Planing for the future

So Victoria is moving out. So we're going to have to move. We're thinking about moving several hours away to a condo but we need to improve our credit a little. We're making moves to get off assistance. Including going to school and starting a business. It's a two year plan. I'm working 4 hours a day on school work. I'm not under the impression that I can work full time or non-remote. Hell I can't take the bus by myself. I'm really concerned the stress will make my symptoms worse.

i understand your concerns. im worried about working full time too

I'm worried about the future, too. Like many long-time homeowners, we'd pay more for housing if we move, even if we downsize to a 1 BR apartment from a sprawling 3 BR ranch on a park-like setting. Sure we'd get some equity from the deal, I suppose.

Even more worrisome is the cost of my wife's health care. We've been reaching the insurance plan's maximum out-of-pocket. Add to that dental care. And add my daughter's student loan payment and the payment for the Parent Plus loan I took out.

I don't know much about how Sec. 8 works (I think you have it?) but where I worked in home health there were several apartment complexes for Sec 8 that were extremely nice. I remember one in particular that was set up for people with impaired mobility; it even had a built in wood shower chair with an accessible shower. That one was super nice but there were a couple others I remember that were quite accessible.

I don't know if that is available elsewhere but if you could find it it sounds like it would really help you.

We're trying to get a mobility unit but it's a condo but if working works out enough that we get of section 8 then things bomb it's a ten year waiting list to get back on.

So I found out that the certificate I'm doing won't transfer. I was hoping at least one class language is hard for me today. I filled out the school disability form and I was like can I really do this.

I'm really questioning our ability to do this but I really want to succeed.

I wish I could help out more, but honestly I'm in the similar boat of "I want to do x, but shoving all idealism aside, can I?"

I kinda hate the fact that I'm expected to do more than survive the day and plan for winter. I do find stress and having a schedule with limited flexibility makes my symptoms worse. There's so much in the air right now and not a lot of predictability; it's hard to commit to something (for me anyway).

So I made a doable 2-3 year plan . Which ends with me having an MBA and master's degree. I don't know if I can work my pregame is 6-10 months. So I'm not risking anything until then. After that I have a semester and if I don't finish in that semester which if I'm going advantage pace I should but if I don't I can apply for scholarships while trying to figure out 1 more semester. After that I'll apply internationally for my MBA and master's which takes a year but can be extended to a year and a half. Once I get my degrees I'll start applying for a remote associate ux project manager which will lift us out of poverty.. My husband is doing the same with web development project management. He should get done almost a year before me.

I'm still concerned because my therapist doesn't want me to do it. She wants me to relax. She says that is to much stress for me. I told her I'm taking it one step at a time. The first 2 steps can take as long as they take. It's the 3rd step I may have to find money for and risk my disability. My pdoc wants me to spend time resting too. Neither wants me off disability but I don't know how to get my needs met on disability. H just wants me to stop talking about all this and do my current class. He wants me to take one class at a time.

You don’t need MBA AND masters because MBA already IS masters degree in business administration.

It’s not a required degree and frankly you can be just fine without it. Masters degree will cost you a ton of money.

Why would you apply internationally? You mean you’d study on a foreign country? It would cost you even more.

I’d see if there are careers with associate or the most bachelor degree or maybe just a certificate program. If you are not sure about working full time, then it might be a mistake getting all these degrees. There are very few, if any scholarships for non traditional students. I’d not count on that.

Are there any disability vocational services you are involved in? They’d help you to narrow down your choices. And in my state if you are on SSI they’ll pay community college tuition. Maybe you have that in your state. School will cost you nothing

I don't succeed at community college. I tried 5 times. I'm taking a competency bachelor's which will let me transfer 90 credits in from Sophia, study . Com, Coursera and other places.

Coursera courses (transfer in as 3-18 credits) cost $60 a month. But several are free through our local library.

When I get done with that I'll take $300 and finish my gen. Ed classes at Sophia. So about $420 and 6 months I'll have the rest of my 90 credits.

Then I'll have 4 months to finish the 10 classes before I run out of aid and have to apply for scholarships or pay $1700 for 8 more weeks.

The international school I plan to go to is well under $1k with scholarship for both degrees and it takes a year to complete.

So I'll be spending under $1k to 3k for all the degrees. It's a regionally accredited state school that runs this program. My husband is doing the same but he already has his gen Ed. So he'll be paying like $2k at most.

I'm taking my disabilities into account as well as my interests and building a future that provides enough income for the area I live. No community college degree that I can do will provide enough in my area. Most bachelor's won't either because I need part time and remote.

I'm not going to sell myself short because of what others say I'm capable of. If I listened to them I wouldn't be walking. I can't afford to just make barely over $1550/month when mobility units are going at over $4k a month. And care professionals are $30 hr. I have to make money and education is the only way.

Well community college is a good start and and I don’t think it’s selling yourself short at all. Ton of people get that first and then go from there. Or just have that. There are community colleges now that provide 4 year degrees too. A lot of careers don’t require masters.

Of course if you found masters degree for less than 1k and found all these other options that cost so little and are easier than community college, then it’s all good. Just be careful. Sadly too many people end up with degrees that not legit or not needed and don’t lead to a successful career. So you want to be careful but good luck!

PS I am the first person to tell you that education is the way and often is the only way, so that’s not something I am against BUT… i just urge you to be reasonable and realistic. Like unusually low prices and unusually short times in course completion sounds alarming (for example 10 classes in 4 months just isn’t happening). Also please listen to your care team.

But again I hope it all works out.

I've tried community college. I can't do it. I have one semester of aid left so I would rather use it for the last upper level courses.

The classes aren't easier than community college most have projects and 15 page papers, along with readings and videos. It's not easier it's just at your pace vs having x to read then a discussion post, then you have to wait a week. I also don't have to fight for accommodations when testing because it's all papers.

I know community college is good I recommend it to people all the time and their 4 year program is good if that's the career path you want to go but it's not good for nerodivergent people.

The build your own degree is perfect for me because my career is just starting to require degrees. So building one to specialize is the best bet. These degrees are from regionally accredited, state sponsored universities. So they do mean the same as a brick and mortar state college.

As far as the masters that's for me. It gives me more time and specialized training to starve off imposter syndrome. It may not help bring more money in but it will help with confidence which I will need.

I would need to be able to write 250+ page academic papers and several power point presentations in 4 months to complete the classes plus read an digest 10 textbooks with video lectures. It's a lot but I'm not at that point yet. And really it's the only option I have at this point if I want a degree.

Step 1&2 are to collect the credits needed through certifications. The reason why it's so cheap is my library participants in grow with Google. Which accounts for 33 of the credits towards the degree free. Then Coursera plus counts for another 18. These are not easy courses but provide value and I can pour myself into them. I'm not concerned with step 3 yet (the school phase) because I'm not there yet.

My care team thinks anything besides me relaxing will cause a major flare in symptoms. Which is true but I have to live. There's no help for a PCA my insurance company won't cover my needs and I need to take steps to get out of this house especially with my daughter moving out.

Thats STAVE, not starve. It just sounds redundant to say MBA and masters without specifying what area the 2nd masters is in.

I am not sure why you say that community colleges are not good for neurodivergent people. They are actually more geared towards people who need accommodations and need a bit of a different path than other higher Ed institutions. Perhaps other states aren’t as good about it but in mine community colleges all have disability services and will honor special needs accommodations and will allow various pathways, including virtual. And if you work vocational disability services, they’ll advocate for you and you will guide through the process. I do this for a living and I see too many people wasting time and money on something that sounds good on paper but will not lead to anything or just not needed. I’d not recommend to get masters degree if it doesn’t bring more money (unless one is wealthy already). It’s too hard, too long and too pricey.

I just worry about you paying for these courses that might not lead no where

I cannot afford a house for 4k a month. I don’t know who can?

that's the fair market rate for a 1 br here that is mobility accessible.

I've never been able to do brick and mortar schools even with accommodations. I dropped out at 17 in 10th grade. I can't handle the people. I spent 3 years avoiding people in in school suspension. So in reality I dropped out at 14. However I'm good at testing and writing papers. It may work for some but the drop out rate is over 40%

$4,000 a month is insane! My husband is a professor and makes around $100K a year. Our house payment is just over $900.00 a month and even with H's good salary, we still struggle. How much would you be bringing in monthly between you & your H? After taxes & deductions for health insurance, I mean, which takes up a HUGE amount of monthly income. And even with healthcare insurance, any time I've needed a psych hospitalization, the cost has been $1000-$2000 a pop. Then, there's copays for the pdoc, medications, etc. LIfe also throws you unexpected emergencies; for example, one time, I had to have surgery due to a health emergency, that ended up costing over $7000. And dental emergencies aren't cheap either. I recently needed a root canal and that was $1000 easily even with dental insurance and they expected full payment the day services were rendered.

You do need to consider your mental health. It seems I remember you posting about struggling recently on this forum without the stressors of a job. I am not saying you can't do it if you put your mind to it, but that you need to weigh what your care team advises very thoroughly. Going to school and turning in assignments on time (having deadlines) is extremely stressful even for students without mental health issues. Same with holding a job.

The entry salary for each of our degrees is over $120k. We wouldn't be making that because we'd only work part-time. So let's say $75k together. With 115k we are still eligible for HUD and the home buyer program. We're eligible for it now but no ones going to give us a $275k loan. Which is a low income 2 bedroom mobility unit. Which is about $2,500 - 3000 a month. About $1k cheaper and 1 extra bedroom. If we stay low income we can get a 1 bedroom for $2,300 a month but that means we still on HUD.

This doesn't include the PCA which is 26k a year which I need.