Never Ending Battle with Education

I have been going to college off and on since I graduated from high school. Due to the amount of hours I have to put in at work to get all my bills paid off this year due to the failing economy, I have flirted with the idea of taking this year off from school. I am only 28.5 credit hours from getting my Bachelors and very close to my Associates with only a couple of general required classes to take since I have already earned enough of the credits required. I figured that since my work is paying for my education I really must learn to do both. I am currently taking Business Ethics which is required for both my desired degrees. I figure if my work starts laying off this year, I will have something to take away from the business aside from my experience there which will help me to find a job where I will make as much as I make now since I can't afford to make less with a mortgage and in an attempt to get all my interest accruing bills paid quickly.

The idea is that by the end of this year I will be out of debt and saving about 700 dollars a month toward my 8 months of required spending for my emergency account. For those of you following my financial advice (which is really not mine and is a collaboration of Suze Orman, MSNBC, Ben Stein, and other financial guru's advice I put together in one post) here is how I calculated what I need to survive an 8 month period when laid off:

Mortgage 722.50 (monthly)
Utilities 300.00 (high average monthly includes cell phones, internet and cable t.v.)
Groceries 200.00 (high average monthly)
Total Monthly exenses 1222.50 X 8 months = $9780

Then I add the yearly bills in case I need to pay them when I get laid off
Car Registration 250.00
Car Insurance 500.00

So my total emergency expense should be $10,530.50 which is my goal to attain next year. By then if I keep my education going, I will also be worth more in the market since I will have finally gotten my Associate's just by taking at least one online class a term or semester slowly accruing credits until I make it. I will have also protected my credits in earning my Associate's since it is transferrable in its entirety to any accreditted university in Utah. (I have checked with the U of U and BYU, I am sure Weber State is the same.)

So by the end of next year, I'll be debt free, prepared incase my car needs a new transmission or engine and be ready to save up for things like another property which will become my home and I will consider my current townhome an investment property which I will be either be renting my portion out to pay the mortgage on it as well as to make a small profit on the side, or selling to Jeanette completely and cashing out on the equity to help finance my new property.

This type of planning and execution is a long term commitment so for most people it's easier just to focus on paying off the bills this year since interest and credit is going to be taking some, not so great for the consumer, changes. Once you pay off bills focus on saving as much as you can as often as you can because a rainy day will come when you will need it. I know, I've had a few and thanks to my supportive family and friends I have come out of it decently but I would rather be covered so I don't have to ask for help when the next emergency hits.

It will probably take me several years to get the remaining credits I need, rather than dwelling on the fact of how long it will take, I focus on the steps I have to do now. I am a type B personality so I know if I just keep doing my best on the small steps, I will eventually achieve my greater goals. It may seem insurmountable at first but the longer you focus on it, the easier it becomes, the less of a mountain you have to climb. My education may be a long time to complete since I don't plan on stopping at a Bachelor's but I will get there eventually and when I do, I will be in a much more stable financial situation with plenty of money saved up so if and when I go to Law School, I will be able to stop working long enough to finish my education and still be able to afford my current lifestyle. All of that by taking the small steps and sticking with it. If I loose sight of my goals, I will just return to my small steps which will keep me on the direction I want to go.