A Hundred Years A-Growing by Gillian Finan

She splits rent with two roommates and primarily relies on public transportation to get around, though she does splurge on Ubers. Subscription and memberships: $126 on a social club membership, Spotify, Microsoft Word and Amazon PrimeĬarter charges most of her expenses to her credit card, then pays it off in full each month.Food: $368 on groceries, dining out and ordering in.Discretionary: $371 on concert tickets and social events.Transportation: $385 on public transportation and Ubers.Housing and utilities: $1,442 on rent, Wi-Fi, gas and electricity.Savings and investments: $8,300 toward her high-yield savings account and retirement investment accounts.Though her $90,000 a year starting salary was already more than what many of her peers were making - even grads with the highest-paying majors earned an average starting salary of just $75,900, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers - Carter's side hustle was becoming a more lucrative opportunity. 'Once that happened, I was like, 'OK, I see the value in the information that I'm offering.''Ĭarter's own scholarship success inspired others and attracted a large and engaged audience, so she continued to use her platform to share tips and leads on scholarship opportunities, capturing the attention of more companies and organizations looking to advertise money they wanted to give away.Ĭarter graduated from Princeton in 2022 and got a 9-5 job in finance as a marketing analyst. 'I didn't even know people were really making money like that from posting online until I was approached with an opportunity from a major retailer and they paid me $2,500 to share about a scholarship opportunity that they had,' Carter says. 'Once I figured out that there's free money out there that other people could give to me because they believed in me and my dreams so that I could go to school for free, I jumped on it and applied to every opportunity that I saw,' Carter says. That's when she started researching and applying for scholarships. She knew millions of people throughout the country are burdened by student loans and didn't want to join their ranks.

The eye-popping cost of attending college - anywhere from an average of $25,707 per year at a public in-state school to $54,501 a year at a private university, according to Education Data Initiative - scared Carter.

College was the next logical step to continue building on her success, but she was initially shocked by the price. Her family relocated to Florida when she was 13 and starting middle school.Ī dedicated student-athlete, Carter had an impressive high school career academically and through extracurriculars like softball and track. Carter was born in Jamaica before moving to London, where she spent most of her childhood.

A Hundred Years A-Growing by Gillian Finan