The money raised will be used to finance my education and related expenses. This fall, I plan to pursue my master's degree in acupuncture. I have put myself through college, without taking out student loans. More than likely, I will have to take out loans for graduate school, but I'd like to keep myself out of debt as much as possible.  Don't take this as a scheme to pay of credit cards or as a means of living a lavish lifestyle. I have zero credit cards! In fact, I've never had a credit card! I'm fiscally responsible in my day to day life. I have a simple IRA through my job, I'm paying off a loan on my economical compact car, I get discounted rent and free water through my job, I have a $300 Ibook as my main computer and manage to find free wi-fi here and there, and I spend a minimum amount on food and entertainment. Still, I barely scrape by each month and do not have the room in my budget for school savings. And this is why I've started the 'Leave a Penny' site.

 

I encourage everyone to visit the Diane Rehm Show website and listen to her interview with Tamara Draut on her new book "Strapped". They discuss why 20-somethings and 30-somethings have difficulty getting ahead financially.