I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Before I was in TFA, teaching was all I ever wanted to do. I absolutely love teaching. But as I look at my options for next year, I’m forced to think practically. Can I afford to continue teaching?
Before I started teaching, I had no debt. I had paid off all of my student loans, and I had savings. As of right now, a year and a half into my career, I have thousands of dollars in credit card debt and $500 in savings. I barely make it through each month without overdrawing my bank account. I can’t keep living like this.
Now, I understand that I could manage my money better. I know that some teachers do take home more than $1700 a month. The other teachers at my school, the ones who seem to have a social life, are all married and living off of their husbands’ income. Their teaching paycheck is their “fun” money. And my cost of living right now, in rural Arkansas, is probably the lowest it’s ever going to be.
So, internet, is teaching as a single adult financially viable?
(By the way, this whole thought process is spurred by this article: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/20/why.quit.teacher/index.html)
I think it’s hard to answer that question without knowing where your money is going. Are you paying for groceries, rent, electricity, and cable and overdrawing your bank account? Or are you going out every weekend and overdrawing your bank account?