Sophia asks :
Hi Lucy,
I'm studying abroad. While my parents are retired and struggling to make ends meet and pay my fees. I want to pay them back when I finish my studies but I don't know how long it will take. I start crying in the middle of the day thinking of them and what they are going through. I feel depressed and on the edge of a breakdown. What do I do?
Hi Sophia,
Agony Aunts on Female First
Do you have the time to get a job? Perhaps you could send some money back over to them to help ease their finances if you were able to find some part time work?
Can you apply for a loan? If they are struggling, then perhaps you could apply for a student loan to help you pay for your fees instead? This could give you until the end of university to start paying it back and take the pressure off your parents?
Is it cheaper to come back home? Could you study your course and live at home instead of abroad? Perhaps it would save money by returning back to a university nearer your parents?
Could you defer your studies? If their situation is becoming unbearable, then perhaps you could delay the remainder of your course until you have pulled some money together to pay for it yourself?
There are many other options, so perhaps it would help to sit down and write them all down and decide which is the best avenue for you and then talk to your parents about the alternatives.
tagged in Parents
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