Essay Example: Family and Personal Financial Challenges

With the high cost of college fee nowadays, one has to be rich to finish college without working as a part timer or full timer. When I came to this town, I thought getting my first (insert your degree here) degree and pursue a career of my choice would be a walk in the park. However, it turned out to be difficult than I imagined. Working on a full-time basis and spending more time in school than the required time was the least I expected. My family has faced a financial crisis for several years ever since my father lost his job. It was challenging for him to get another job since his career required young and energetic individuals. My siblings and I started working at an early age to help in sustaining the family until I got an opportunity to advance my education.

Before I was offered my first opportunity to acquire my degree, I had applied for three schools. However, these schools were costly, and I could not afford the college fees. I decided to do more research and applied for several colleges. Luckily, I was able to come to an affordable college. My parents and I had been saving some money to further my education, but it was not enough to fund my entire course. I had to look for a way of getting the rest of my college fee.

My family and I were at the bottom of a barrel. When I resigned from my place of work to further my studies, we used all the money to buy some personal effects and fees. We were renting an apartment. We paid two months rent, phone bills, and electricity bills. I left my family in a desperate financial situation. On the other hand, my first year in school was smooth since I had enough money to finance my needs. I had to look for a part-time job in my second year of study. My pay was very little to cater for my school fees and other needs as well as help my family back home. I applied for several scholarships, but I was granted a partial scholarship that lasted for one year. I decided to look for a full-time job which was still a struggle. I deferred my studies twice, and I ended up spending two extra years in school.

As a family, we needed to come up with a way that will help us overcome the financial challenges. We decided that we will be working, pull the money together then split it in a way that it would cater to all our needs. My parents opted to pay for the house rent while I paid for phone bills, the internet, and electricity. Also, I was offered tuition reimbursement at my workplace. We shared the food bills, clothing, and household items.

It was several years of struggle with some of my siblings having to put on hold their studies. Rather than my parents seeking for employment, I opted to open a grocery store for them. The grocery shop picked up so well, and we managed to open more stores in different parts of the town. I realized it was essential for me to work to help ends meet. My sister on the hand was able to get a full-time scholarship, and this eased the burden of paying for her course. It was not a good experience, but I learned lessons that have been very helpful. That is, despite the many difficulties that a person may encounter, it is often good to find a way to overcome them.