Well, now that I know what my paychecks will be (more or less) for the next couple of years, I’ve been able to do some number crunching to see if I can afford my Masters program without getting a loan or not.

I was pretty confident that I could pay the first year with what I have in savings. And now that I’ve crunched the numbers, it looks like I can pay for year two as well! Woot!

In order to do this, I need to stay in my self-imposed budget (which is very livable). And well – I’d say more, but would probably jinx myself. Let’s just say that it’s doable and leave it at that.

So, for the next two years, no more paying for City of Heroes, no more DVD impulse buying, cutting back on eating out, etc. (Now I won’t go all crazy or anything – if something Sylvish comes along, I’ll be buying it, no sweat. And I intend to budget in some upcoming DVDs like Pirates 3 and Ocean’s 13. And Saturday? Indian Fud! It’s been ages since I’ve been.)

It feels good to think I can do this without a loan!