@LeopardFire I have a twin sister too!
@ak2018 My mom’s just like “back in my day…” She’s 54.
You guys it sucks being on a really tight budget… anytime anything comes up I get anxious knowing it will be tough to pay for it. And I would get a job, but then I would have to have a license. Guess what costs money? Driver’s ed. That’s why hopefully I’m going to get a job this summer and save it up for school expenses such as AP tests and marching band fees. I hope none of you guys are like me and have to worry about finances lol.
@Hamlon @LeopardFire lmao same
@HelloThereHola I feel the same way. I’m fortunate that my grandfather paid for my drivers ed and that my grandmother left her car here when she moved to Cincinnati. I’m going to try to get a paid internship or fellowship or something of the like at the local university like others at my school have done so I have money for gas, a laptop of my own (not a school-issued one), and money for personal expenses in college. My friends and I also plan on going on a camping trip in Appalachia after graduation. 
@frazzledazzle I looked at local universties and none of them offerered any around here. I’m probably just going to get a real job. And I turn 17 in September and at that point, you don’t need driver’s ed anymore to get a license. Becoming more independent would help me tremendously too. It’s just scary. Next year is going to be a lot of pressure not only academically but other areas as well. Maybe it would be nice for a change. I wouldn’t have to worry about anything involving money. That sounds fun lol! I’m lucky to be going to Washington D.C. this summer with my closest friends too. It costed 700 dollars but I didn’t even pay for it; my old spanish teacher paid for it. I feel like a charity case.
@HelloThereHola I, as well many people across the world, unfortunately living on a tight budget. I always get anxious whenever I have to ask my parents for anything over $10 that isn’t lunch money. Like @nyuhopeful44 , If you don’t mind me using you as an example, I’ll usually procrastinate on telling my parents about it for a awhile. Especially when we just bought something that cost a lot of money. I remember in the 6th grade, I literally waited for two weeks for the right moment to tell my dad that I lost a copy of The Hunger Games from the school library. He was definitely disappointed. I just told my dad three weeks ago about my plans to try and take a required summer class this summer that cost $450 and he literally said okay. I was like 
. I waited weeks to tell him and he literally said “okay, I’ll pay the money whenever registration starts”. I’m planning on taking HPE II, which includes driver’s ed, this summer. Hopefully I’ll be to get my license only three months after my birthday.
The point is my parents will always have to worry about finances. There are 3 kids with two adults living together in a two-floor normal suburban house in a normal suburban neighborhood. We barely make a $70,000 income. My dad would never allow me to get a job before I’m 18. He just doesn’t think I’m ready to be out there in the workforce, even if it would be at my local library or a grocery store. I turn 16 in less than 3 months and it’s kind of funny how 10 years ago, I thought I would have a car and a job by now. Boy was I wrong. I’m not getting a car until college.
@ak2018 Exactly! I thought when i turned 16, everything would great. Little did I know I would be living the exact same as I did when I was 12 years old lol. Oh well… Junior year will bring lot of changes in my maturity. I live with only my mom and my two brothers in a single floored household. My dad left this past year and things have been pretty tough. Our income is not even half yours now. One of my brothers is extremely impaired too, so that adds to the bills. We are barely scraping by. Even though my circumstances are unfortunate, it’s probably what has motivated me the most in doing good in school. My future is probably bright and won’t be comparable to my circumstances now.
Edit: I just need to add that I’m fortunate we can afford internet lol. Most bills are paid, it’s just anything extra that isn’t. Which I usually need lol.
our school is hella ghetto and we have over 1000 kids per grade.
about 4500 kids in all, and it’s the only school in the city
since its ghetto, its ez to stand out, and colleges can’t blame you for going to a crappy school since its the only school in the city.
there are tons of benefits: very few restrictions on ap’s, the regular math track being 1 grade higher, honors classes being as easy as regular classes, etc.
and thats why i like going to a crappy school.
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@HelloThereHola I think I just have to ask around for UMaine. You can get your license without drivers ed when you’re 18 (or 21 idk) in Maine. You would still have to pass the drivers ed test. My sister and I aren’t going on the band trip to NYC this year because it cost too much for that and the Berklee jazz trip with my mom chaperoning. I footed the bill for Berklee with my Christmas money. The total cost for everything for my family would have been $4100. We don’t have that kind of money. We are already saving up for the DC trip when we’re seniors.
@ak2018 My family is 2 teenagers (myself included) and my mom, living in a raised-ranch in one of the largest cities in Maine (only 30k people). My mom works 80 miles away in Augusta and only makes around $60,000. My mom and I came to a consensus about me not getting a job because I’m too busy. The summer thing at UMaine is my best bet for making money for a car, laptop, college, etc. I’m fortunate enough to have a hand-me-down car from my grandmother. I’ll just have to pay for all of the expenses.
@thetex In my town there is also a private school but you’d have to pay $10,000 a year to go there if you’re from in town. If you’re from out-of-town the town pays for it. Only the rich kids in my town go to the private school, and even then most of the kids go to the public school because it’s better. It has a lot of APs, different curriculum academies, and more opportunities in sports (99 state championships) and activities.
@HellThereHola I feel your pain. There are 5 people in my family living on $20-30,000. I didn’t even know how much my family made until this year because I finally convinced my dad of how much we would save on AP, SAT/ACT exams, etc by signing up for free/reduced lunch. I don’t feel poor, but the word is constantly used to place me in a group labeled “other.” Like, how does my ability to pay for nice shoes factor into deciding if I’m going to grow up to be a criminal?! Right now, I’m the cheap friend who never goes to the movies or the mall because I know I can’t afford it. I’m really glad I go to the school I’m at because there isn’t a stigma around this issue. Over half of the kids are in income brackets similar to or worse than mine. I just go through each day by focusing on the things that will get me to my goal of going to college. I work as hard as I do because I know I would end up at the local CC if I didn’t get any good financial aid.
U-Haul has online jobs that are available to people 16 and over. All you need is an internet connection and a headset! My parents won’t let me drive, so when I turn 16 I’m just going to apply for a position at U-Haul. 
Also, don’t call yourself a charity case! Everyone needs a boost sometimes to catch up to others due to circumstances outside of their control. All the people that help you want to see you succeed because they know you have it in you to go further than they have.
@HelloThereHola, @ak2018
I’m the complete opposite my dad tries to convince me to buy things, but I’m too cheap. Like he wants me to get tutoring for school and I’m like Dad they don’t help me because i tried getting a chem tutor and all they did was confuse me and I got my first F on a test thankfully i still pulled off a B in the class(science is my worst subject though). Also I hear people on hear saying they’re into stem or humanaties. Is there anyone in here that’s into Math but not science or into Science but not math because I’m interested in majoring in economics so my favorite subjects are Math then social studies(mainly Econ, but I also like analyzing history not so much the facts but just analyzing socio, economic, and political effects over time).
@hamlon We are in the exact same situation. There are 5 people at my house too with the same income. My friends always go places that I can never go because I can’t afford it. I even skipped homecoming stuff because I had no money. And there’s the preconceived notion that a boy has to pay for the girl too! Screw that xD. That’s how my school is, but the kids I hang around aren’t poor.
And it’s funny that you mention that. My mom was manager of a U-haul store a while back! How hilarious. And thanks for the pep talk; that’s exactly the reason why I’m doing all I can now to succeed later. There’s no way this is my life in the future. Low income students may have restrictions, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get ahead in life too.
Lmao it requires hours from like 7 am to 10 pm. That probably wouldn’t work since we are still in school. Maybe in the summer? idk
@HelloThereHola Thank you for sharing this part of your life. I too also have a story I have always wanted to get off my chest. The worst years of my life so far were when I was between the ages of 12 - 14. After my then best friend had moved away at the end of 6th grade, I came back to school the following year with completely different. I had a much sadder attitude. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt like I always wanted to be alone and people at school became a lot harder to talk to as I started to become very shy. Then, around the beginning of 2013, I entered a depression. My behavior was caused due to events that had happened prior to this that I would not like to discuss. My parents started to complain about how distant I was becoming. I felt like my whole family was starting to fall apart all because of the choices I made. My shyness affected me being able to talk to my parents. When I was around them, I couldn’t start a single conversation. To make myself happier, I tried to stay after school to avoid going home. I would usually do clubs and sports. In 8th grade, it became better, but not by much. I have thought about suicide twice and whenever I started to think about my home life at school, I would to go to the bathroom and silently cry. I just wanted tears to fall. It felt like I wasn’t in control of my own emotions.
Looking back at those times, I never want to go back to those times ever. Sharing this with you all has made me a little better. I hope I can someday be able to help my children or anyone from going through this. Just know that if anyone here feels like they’re going through this. Please PM me! I don’t want to see anyone have to go through this.
@ak2018 Of course! We should all realize that we can be here for each other. What better people to vent to and share stories (good or bad) than anonymous people online? All jokes aside, I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing anything with anyone in real life. We should all feel comfortable to explain any difficulties related to our lives here; we should be here for each other. We could be a family
I’m glad you got past those times though. I have experienced something similar due to an incident and what worked for me was moving. It sounds weird, but when i moved, things changed and I became happier.I went from being really shy and depressed to happy and great. At least you got out of your sad times without moving I guess
I’m glad everyone is opening up. It would be great to see where we stand 2 years from now when we get accepted to colleges and other things too.
@BucketsUCSC I really love math but I don’t like science that much. It may be because of my teachers though. Literally both the science teachers I had were horrible. Good people, terrible teaching. On the other hand, I love math. I dont know what career I want to pursue though. Everything sounds so good though. Also, you should have probably got a different tutor if they just confused you more lol
Coming from a low income background, it is so inspiring to find others who have similar stories to mine. I live in a single parent household and times are rough. That is a major motivation for me to do well in school. One thing that kind of irks me is when people in my community automatically assume that since I am an over represented minority, I am naturally smart and my family is well off. Well, that is not the case. It would be nice if it were, but it isn’t.
Wow all you guys have legit income problems, my parents are just cheap It’s both my parents, me, and my sister. I’m not exactly sure what their income is, but my mom’s a teacher and my dad’s an electrician, so I’m gonna guess about $100,000. I finally broke the news about my AP exams and my mom said not to worry about it, but I’m sure she’ll complain when she actually pays for them. @ak2018 I still have to break the news about my summer class. I want to take chemistry online to be placed into AP Chemistry, which I discovered will be about $600.
@BucketsUCSC I’m the opposite, I love Biology and Chemistry but I hate Math with a passion.
I also live in a single parent home, around 60,000… I’m not poor but i’m definetly not as well off as my friends lol, my mom has never once just given me money that wasn’t for lunch (i always get so confused how my friends without jobs have so much money, they’re parents just given them money randomly??? I dont understand that lol). I’m always told not to worry about money but the second i stop my mom is complaining how much something cost, how much money we cost her (i have two siblings, one in college and a twin), and how she hasn’t paid the bills yet. Sigh.
@nyuhopeful44 My parents are super cheap too lmao. We’re a 4 member family (brother, mom, dad and I). I think our income is hovering around $200-$250K. My mom won’t even let me borrow 25 cents without asking why I need it, how I’m going to spend it, where I’m going with it and who I’m buying it for. But when it comes to education, they will splurge and I’m very thankful for that considering my old school’s tuition fee in Switzerland ($120K yikes)
I can’t believe courses in the USA are so expensive. The tuition for those summer courses here are mostly free (or you pay $50 for supplies such as books, etc.).