Congratulations! You finally decided to go back to school and earn the degree you’ve always wanted.
And it’s probably safe to say, you might feel excited while being nervous at the same time. That’s
because parents, especially newer ones, have a lot on their plate. It takes a lot to manage the
household, work full-time and take care of your family. Here are four things you need to avoid when going
to school as a parent.

Not Creating a Constructive Schedule

Staying focused and on task is key. You’re probably already aware of this seeing as you’re a parent.
However, college work combined with your important responsibilities in your day-to-day life can be
stressful if not handled properly. This is why it’s important to create a schedule that’s manageable. How
you choose to structure this schedule is up to you. As a recommendation, you can choose to do your
schoolwork every other day. Your schedule should be easy to follow as well as flexible.

Don’t Ignore Your Finances

One of the biggest mistakes parents can make when going back to school is ignoring their personal and
household finances. Forgetting to make a monthly credit card payment can cause issues no one wants to
go through when it comes to late fees and negative marks on your credit report. Granted, we
understand that college is an investment within itself and tuition can be expensive. This is especially true
if your degree is in something, like medicine or law. However, there’s a way for you to avoid struggling
to pay your monthly expenses, which is taking out a student loan from a private lender. Private lenders
can be a parent’s best friends. Because the of low interest rates, private lenders can tailor the loan
terms to suit your budget. These types of loans can also be combined with financial aid as well.

Don’t Neglect Your Family

We understand that having a lot of responsibilities on your plate does eat up a lot of your time. While
you can afford to cut back on some personal time, cutting out family time isn’t a good idea. Neglecting
your family for your work can negatively affect the household dynamics. If you’re unable to set any time
for them individually, then your way around this is to use whatever free time instead and spend time
together as a unit. Set aside one day a week for family time. Plan a fun day trip, picnic in the park or
make popcorn and watch your favorite movies.

Not Making Time for Yourself

It should go without saying that having an abundance of responsibilities leaves little time for self-care.
After a hard day at work and completing this week’s course work, you deserve to take some time for
yourself. Remember the aforementioned schedule? This is where those free days are going to come in
handy. The days you opt not to do your school, you can use them to take care of yourself. Do things you
enjoy doing such as your favorite hobby, listening to music, treating yourself to a spa day or just sleeping in.