I am having trouble prioritizing tasks this morning. Here are the things I need to work on:
1. Filling out a FAFSA and a CSS. Both of these are forms to apply for financial aid if your child is hoping to be a college student; you don’t always have to do the CSS, but two of the schools Rob is interested in require it. Would anyone like to…say a few words? Reassurance? Warning? I hear the FAFSA is not too terrible, especially now that it can import your tax forms, but the CSS asks for things such as all your unreimbursed medical expenses, so if that’s the sort of thing you don’t normally keep track of you have to go digging through your checkbook and credit card statements and add them all up.
2. Passport applications. Paul’s certified birth certificate copy arrived already even though it warned it could take 6 weeks, so now I need to get a move-on for his and the kids’ passport photos/applications/etc. I’d thought I’d have more weeks of legitimate procrastination.
3. Getting ready for a weekend trip to go visit a college that’s farther away than I’d prefer Rob go, in a city where I’m scared to drive, staying in a cheap motel that doesn’t even have a continental breakfast but costs for two nights the same as what I used to pay for a month in a two-bedroom apartment.
4. Elizabeth did one of those surprising growth spurts, where the clothes that fit last week are impossible this week. And unlike all her other growth spurts, during which I would go into her closet and pull out boxes of clearance/Goodwill clothing in the next size, this time I pulled out…two pairs of pants and two short-sleeved t-shirts. It seemed like a smart idea not to try to buy ahead for the middle school years, but on the other hand this supply is not going to cut it. So far I’ve gone to two places online and have tutted at the prices, but that’s all the progress I’ve made. I think I might have to go to Target and just buy a few things to tide her over until I can gradually increase the supply via sales/clearances. Or maybe I’ll ask Freecycle. I checked Goodwill and they had almost nothing: I think back-to-school shopping cleared them out. I’m hoping soon they’ll have a bunch of stuff as everyone takes out the cool-weather things and finds their kids have outgrown them.
Re: Elizabeth’s growth spurt – have you tried online secondhand shops like schoola or thredup? I also really like the kidizen app, but I’ve only shopped baby/toddler with it, not sure how the selection is for older kids. I love how (with all of these) you can filter by size/style/brand – such a time saver if you have a specific item or child in mind!
Yes! Seconding ThredUp and Kidizen, though I’ve found Kidizen less useful the older my son gets (he’s six – maybe it’s different for a girl?) because I feel like they start wearing out clothes vs simply outgrowing them at this age.
I’ll reassure you that the FAFSA isn’t too terrible. :) I never had to fill out the CSS so I can’t speak to that one.
I love these kinds of posts. Off to make my own list. Are you planning a trip re passports? Or just a general to do item?
Regarding target, we just bought stuff yesterday there for our almost 3 year old daughter, a new brand called c@t and j@ck. Went to put it on this am and it’s all huge on her. So the cuteness is kind of irrelevant since she’s now off at school in too small clothes again and waiting grow into her clothes again. My point is just that the sizing is so much bigger than expected, an FYI to you.
Oh, good to know! I’ve been noticing that brand’s cuteness and have mentally dibsed several items.
Passports are a combination of (1) general to-do and (2) maybe we WILL plan a trip if we have passports.
That’s odd, I bought some 2T leggings in that brand, even though my toddler isn’t quite in that size yet and they fit pretty well. That’s the only experience I have so far though.
I’ve bought clothes from this brand for three different kids and thought that the sizing varied A LOT just item to item, so I’d really recommend having Elizabeth try anything on first.
I would definitely prioritize shopping for new Elizabeth clothes, because it’s the most fun. Perhaps I don’t have the best grasp on what “prioritization” really means.
I find it’s really hard to beat Old Navy for cute, stylish and cheap! Even though we have one practically down the street, I always buy online because they almost always have a 30% or even 40% off code. If they don’t have one on the day that you were looking, wait a day or two and one will probably pop up. If I can’t decide between two sizes, I just order them both and then return the one that doesn’t fit to the actual store.
The FAFSA is not bad, especially (as you said) if you can import tax data. My experience is several years ago so that wasn’t an option, but my tax preparer was able to provide me with a form that showed “this goes on line ___ of the FAFSA,” which was helpful.
CSS Profile? Ugh. I had to do that twice, and it is very invasive. My honest opinion is that the colleges use it to weed out “kids who can’t afford to go here.” You have to file it before they make an admission decision.
College visits can be fun! especially if you’re going to a city you wouldn’t otherwise have gone. I realize I’m probably more adventurous than you, but traveling with my young adult daughter on a budget, we enjoy staying at hostels (not just for the young!) and Airbnb. We are so busy during the day seeing the sights that at night we really just need a place to crash and shower.
The FAFSA isn’t too bad at all. It seems much longer than it is. You can likely import much of your tax information. I like to think of it as being a very satisfying test– one where you already know all the answers. You just need to fill in the box correctly. And, if you do somehow make a mistake (which you won’t), it is correctable.
You’ll feel relieved to have it done because that is satisfyingly taking that ball out of your court and making it someone else’s job. You won’t have to think about it again for weeks or longer, depending on the schools. And you will feel so chuffed because it is done and you are RESPONSIBLE PARENTS.
In terms of the CSS, it is probably like filling out the passport application– daunting at first because you haven’t done it, but then just a matter of moving through each field.
I would bang out the FAFSA, go to Target or Old Navy for some retail therapy with a budget in mind, and then bang out the other financial aid thingie. This could take more than a day, I know. I did FAFSA for approximately 8 years and I figured out that getting hung up on details is death. If you don’t have every receipt for every medical expense, just report the ones you can find. The other stuff, like passports, may seem less daunting when the hard deadlines are met. I love these posts! I guess we all struggle with the to-do list. Gretchen Rubin has a technique called “power hour” where you dedicate time to loathsome tasks, intentionally batching them together.
I love Gretchen Rubin. That’s the only contribution I have to make here!
On the upside, FAFSA & CSS can result in you getting free money! CSS is more detailed, it helps colleges find out who has a $800,000 second home in Hawaii or similar & who is really barely scraping by, therefore helping them put together more equitable financial aid packages (if they’re using it well, some do use it in less equitable ways). But basically, an application for free money, so worth a little work!
The Cat & Jack stuff is cute. Do you have H&M nearby (or in the city you’re visiting)? Such great prices on basics for kids!
1) Depending on the city, do you HAVE to drive? Could you taxi/Uber instead (sometimes that is just as stressful as driving, I know)? Or, would it be a legit item for ROB to work out – hey, you wanna go here, you’re going to have to make the transit work, so why not try it now and see how you do?
2) Cheap clothes in a hurry – seconding Old Navy for ease and price – as you know, it won’t last forever, but you’re also entering the age of, she won’t WANT to wear it forever, so it may grate less than other options. And also, ditto on thredUp and Schoola. Those places can be easy to search or a lovely diversion, depending on what you are looking to get out of the experience. :)
FAFSA isn’t hard at all. I haven’t specifically filled out the CSS, but my wife works in higher ed (learning services) and I am a CPA, so if any of what they are asking for is confusing I’m certain we can help translate, if any such help is needed. Good luck!
The FAFSA is breezy. Maybe knock that out first so you can feel accomplished.
Target has some cute stuff right now, although I think we are at an in between sales time generally, so maybe just get her a couple things to hold over until you can find things on clearance.
Do you want to do all the passports at once? Or one at a time?
I have no experience with the CSS.
For the motel/city/angst, pack your own pillow! Look around on yelp ahead of time so you have some ideas of places you can go to eat, etc., so you don’t feel panicked about being in a new place with no plan AND ALSO HUNGRY.
I find FAFSA to be a piece of cake (for this year it was x3!) but the one time I had to do the CSS… it was AWFUL. HATE. (Sorry.) This could be because I don’t have a second home so it just seemed like so much work for negligible extra information. And I had to look for the info and organize and ugh, I’ve blocked most of it out now. In the end he went to a school that didn’t require the CSS – YAY!
I love Old Navy for cute, inexpensive clothes. Usually good sales online – I don’t know what it’s like in the States, but here actually going into the store makes me want to burn it down. It is usually set up like a completely disorganized tag sale. But their sizes are consistent so I like the online shopping.
I amazon my kids’ clothes, especially when I need something in a hurry. And Costco, Costco always has some cute cheap jeans & shirts. (My oldest (7th grade) is now in a school with uniforms which is a big HOORAY for me.) But I prefer online sales vs in person shopping (thrifting or no), depending on your save time vs save money calculus. Time spent sorting through clothes to find nothing really irks me.
I think the idea of Uber/transit options for the college visit is a great one, that way you drive less & maybe can enjoy things a bit more. It sounds like you have already booked the hotel, but Airbnb is a good option too.
You’ve already done your own passport, so now you know what to do! So maybe knock that one out.
I filled out the FAFSA last weekend. I had been to a little program at my daughter’s school where they filled you in on how to go about it. Here’s what I learned:
First, go to fsaid.ed.gov to get ids. You have to go through the process twice: once to get an ID for your child and again to get an ID for you & your husband. Then when you go to http://www.fafsa.gov to fill out the fafsa, don’t skip entering the student’s driver’s license number (it’s used to check for residency), and when it asks for the student’s email, enter your email instead, because that’s the email that will receive all communications.
I haven’t tackled the CSS yet, but I guess I must gird my loins and attack it.
When I did the FAFSA I couldn’t import anything so that makes it sound much easier.
The one time my dad “helped” me with it, we got audited but that was seriously nbd.
So my main point: don’t worry. Even if you screw it up it’s ok lol
I am 99% sure I did the FAFSA on my own and my parents didn’t even help me. It was 13 years ago, so perhaps my memory is failing me…but I don’t recall it being very difficult. Not all parents are OK with their kids seeing their tax info, though, so I do get that.
Prioritizing shopping, because it will feel like USEFUL procrastination on the other things!! :)
Also, though, from what I can remember of the FAFSA, you do want to do it sooner rather than later, as they will end up giving out grant money on a first-come-first-serve basis. (Can anyone corroborate this? I just know that my mom called after I had received grants the first year but not the second year – despite my grades being, um, in the President List range all throughout high school and then college – and that is what someone from the office told her. And, it definitely did seem to be true for future years, so, I would at least not intentionally wait a while to do the FAFSA.)
If you ask any of your doctors’ offices, they will provide you with a list of your charges for the relevant time period and you can quickly see what you had to pay. I do that at the end of every year for taxes and never bother saving receipts.
Aha! Thanks!
Skip the hotel and look on vbro for a rental. I’ve used vbro for about a half dozen trips now all over the country and have been pleased with all of them.
I realize this won’t help you because you’ve already said you don’t have any clothes put by for her to grow into, but I just wanted to share that there are a few big consignment sales in my city and I’ve clothed my kids for years this way. Each kid has a “too big” box with clothes up to even a few sizes too big so we’ve got a decent reserve. This started because consignment sales are “now or never” finds, and there were too big things that were too cute to pass up.
I’ve clothed my kids almost entirely (obviously underwear and socks have to be bought new, as do running shoes) this way for about $100 each per year. And that includes consigned winter jackets and boots, and even some of their summer sandals. It’s amazing what you can find that was only worn a couple of times by fast-growing kids!