A few of you may remember that I’ve actually been attending a local county college online to work on an accounting degree for the last two years, extremely part time.

At best, I take two classes a semester, but for the most part, it’s one, and there was even a semester where I just couldn’t fit any into my crazy work schedule.

School is definitely my most expensive “hobby” – though hobby is, of course, not quite right, because while I do enjoy learning, the idea is that these additional skills I’m building have the potential for some monetary benefits in the long run.

It all started with a run of a few years of complicated taxes because I work in multiple states regularly. I wasn’t making much, but filing my taxes became a massive undertaking. H&R Block even essentially threw up their hands in confusion at my taxes the year I brought in 18-some states worth of W-2s.

I got so sick of the whole process and paying several hundred dollars that always seemed to effective wipe out any refunds I was getting, that I decided I was going to learn how to do my own taxes and try to focus on a way to streamline tax preparation for entertainment works who don’t make a lot but have a ton of states to file in.

However, it requires some training. I could’ve taken a tax preparer class and test, but I felt that I really didn’t have any of the basic understanding of accounting and going back to square one might be best.

As an additional bonus, with an Associate’s degree in accounting, there are a lot of bookkeeper jobs available too, which is another nice backup plan. Especially because some of those jobs can be done remotely.

When I went to school the first time, it was as a traditional student, right out of high school and full time. I killed it with the college scholarships. It was seriously my part time job to apply for those suckers my senior of high school. I knocked tens of thousands of dollars off the cost of my education.

So, of course, when I decided to return to this traditional school environment, I looked for any ways to knock down the cost and I found that my slow and steady rate, that allowed me to still work full time, wasn’t so great for finding any funding.

The few scholarships I found for people looking to move into a second career all seemed to require me to carry more credits that I reasonably could with my crazy work schedules.

Honestly, the only financial help I really managed to find each year was the Lifetime Learning Credit, a tax credit worth up to 20% of the first $10,000 spent on qualified education expenses, up to a maximum of $2,000.

Well friends, I finally found a way to make returning to school more affordable and it was entirely an accident. I received this tip from following the Year of the Stage Manager 2020-21 (@sminsta2020 – seriously, you never know what you’ll learn over there).

Even if you are not a member of a union, if someone in your immediate family is, you may qualify to take classes for free through Union Plus. According to the website, “UnionPlus members are defined as children (or stepchildren), grandchildren (or step-grandchildren), spouses, domestic partners, financial dependents, siblings, and parents.”

My brother does work a union job, so I was able to submit my application to the program thanks to him. It starts with an application, and I did need some info about his union from him. Then I did a simple application to the college (classes are done through Eastern Gateway Community College) and filled out a FAFSA. Finally, I sent over my previous transcripts, so classes I’ve already taken could be applied.

Classes are online and begin every 8 weeks and they have several Associate’s degree programs, but also several intro classes like English Composition I & II, Intro to Psychology, Ethics, etc. that could let you knock out some basic requirements for free, even if you’re on the traditional, four year, right out of high school track.

I also have to admit, that if I do ever manage to finish this accounting degree, there is also a Fire Science program that the production manager in me is super intrigued by.

Union Plus works with quite a few unions. You can see the full list on their website, but if you’re a member of AEA, IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, or AFM, you’re a part of it. It’s worth asking if any of your family are a part of a union, because there are really a lot of unions included.

Additionally, if you’re looking to study Teacher Education, Business Management, or Criminal Justice, Union Plus is partnered with another university (Central State University) to let you complete classes all the way through your Bachelor’s degree.

Just wanted to share the wealth here, because I was shocked to learn that having an adult sibling that I don’t even live in the same state as anymore was enough to help me save so much money. Hopefully it can help you too.