the cost of life!

[katykins]

im just gonna have a huge rant now because it has been bugging me for ages! i recently got my P's and im lucky to have my parents old car, for the time being, i use it but pay for the pertol ect... BUT today the engine wouldnt start! we thought i was the battery but it turns out it is the alternator, not to mention there is quite a few things wrong with it already!  so i have to pay for it to get fixed (i can afford it) but i have to save for uni outright because i cant get hex (New Zealand citizen). Now im getting stressed because work keep on rostering me on heaps of shifts in the lead up to exams? but i finish tomorrow and i will be able to work fulltime, but im offered hardly any shifts at all!!

So friggen fustrating! life is so expensive and i know i sound like a bratty little girl, but how is a student expected to make a life for themselves when everything is so damn expensive wahhh i hate being a adult haha
 
im thinking about not going to uni next year (gap year), to work

any advice would be greatly appreciated!
i feel better now haha

[binders]

the problem may not be the alternator, if it's an old car. see if the fan belt is loose. loose fanbelt (which drives the alternator to charge the battery) is a common cause of flat batteries. Tightening a fan belt shouldn't be too hard, and is worth a try if you can't afford a new alternator. Good mechanics will do this and charge you almost nothing. bad ones (most?) will just charge you lots for a possibly new alternator.

[katykins]

the problem may not be the alternator, if it's an old car. see if the fan belt is loose. loose fanbelt (which drives the alternator to charge the battery) is a common cause of flat batteries. Tightening a fan belt shouldn't be too hard, and is worth a try if you can't afford a new alternator. Good mechanics will do this and charge you almost nothing. bad ones (most?) will just charge you lots for a possibly new alternator.

oh really? yeah its a 1998 or 1996 vu commodore or something like that (guzzles gas!) not so good with cars, but wow ill try that first! thank you

[Greatness]

If it's going to be expensive to repair then it may be worth looking at buying another car? - used of course. You'll be able to get a decent road worthy cars for a few grand or so, family/family friend etc may be worth a shot too. But it does depend on your budget and repair costs.

Aaahh, remember how we were young and always thought, 'I want to grow up already! Get my license, finish school ra ra ra...' Now I'm like I wish I were a kid again where nothing matters and you could muck around days on end! But yeah you'll find that the costs of living increases a lot after you finish high school! You're in a bit of a pickle tho, I don't think many people realise how beneficial HECS is - myself included! The only thing I'd suggest is try to get more hours at work, perhaps get another part time job? Or work full time somewhere during summer/next year. Also depends on if your parents can help you pay some of the uni fees and whatnot. Do you know if you're eligible for any scholarships or anything like that?

I don't think you're being bratty at all, it's a part of growing up! I didn't realise how much things were until I started buying groceries and stuff myself, every dollar counts! Especially if you're a student. Expect to be poor for a while yet...