Comments on: Living Like a (Grad) Student

By: May 25, 2009 Link Payday | Uncommon Cents

May 25, 2009 Link Payday | Uncommon Cents — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:59:57 +0000

[...] Micah tells us How to Live Like a Grad Student (and for a couple of years there I was a graduate student, so it’s a nice refresher). Student [...]

By: Charlotte_uk

Charlotte_uk — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:29:34 +0000

How on earth did he manage to borrow all that money? I had to beg for £4000 towards rent and even that came through 4 months late! In the end, spending the day at school and weekends and evenings/nights in part time work STILL wasn’t enough to cover the bills on my tiny flat and the lack of sleep made me seriously ill. I don’t have rich parents to fall back on and in the end I was forced to leave after a year to start working full time. Four years later I have managed to pay back the £4k student loan and the £3k I had to borrow for tuition fees/food/bills, but now I am too old to get a proper loan if I did go back and all my money these days goes towards the current rent and bills. I’ve missed the boat I guess! Good luck to the rich kids out there – not that you need it!

By: Friday Link Love - Loving Spring Edition | One Caveman's Financial Journey

Friday Link Love - Loving Spring Edition | One Caveman's Financial Journey — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:12:19 +0000

[...] Micah: Finance for a Freelance Life: Living Like a (Grad) Student – A good story on how to live appropriately as a student. Student loans are for paying for [...]

By: Doctor S

Doctor S — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:59:34 +0000

I financed 4 of my 5 years of college via private student loans. I took out about 2-4k extra every year to help w/ living expenses. In total I had 105k to pay back when I graduated in 2006. I lived at home, didn't demand much extra from life, and finished my education. Looking back, I wish I had persued finding a part-time job more back then, b/c the 12k extra i borrowed was very uneccessary. When I read the story about the fellow $265k in debt, I really found it hard to believe honestly that a lender would be allowed to give such a large amount to one since social security number? I am realyl having trouble trying to comprehend it. We all do stupid things in college but that is taking it to the next level to be perfectly honest. Doctor S’s last blog post: Sports and Business: Lebron James Meets Kermit The Frog

By: TStrump

TStrump — Tue, 12 May 2009 06:50:08 +0000

I REALLY wish I didn't fully live off my student loans when I was a student. Unfortunately, I didn't always work full time each summer - WHAT was I thinking! I graduated with over $20K in debt and it followed me like an albatross until I finally paid it off 6 years ago. Live and learn, I guess. TStrump’s last blog post: Is Going to the Movies Still Worth It?

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Tue, 12 May 2009 05:28:52 +0000

Unfortunately, I did a lot of stupid stuff with student loans when I was younger. I'll be paying for them later, though I've tried to curb a lot of that by making payments now as I work full-time. Though I didn't get a nice place or buy a Mercedes, I did take out almost $20k so I could take six months off of working full-time. I was going to school during that time, but I didn't do what my intentions were for that time off. I meant to double up on classes and really focus on my personal writing, but one thing lead to another and I never got around to it. I fully admit it's probably one of my bigger mistakes financially. So, I feel this guy's pain at his own stupidity (not that I'm calling him stupid, but I understand that he must be beating himself up a bit). At any rate, if he's willing to put in the effort, he can come back from this. It's not going to be easy and he's really going to have to forgo some luxuries, but he can do it. As far as Micah is concerned, he sounds like a very responsible individual which is always a good one to marry. I know having the debt sucks, but I wouldn't let it stress you out so much. Micah seems to have a plan for taking care of things. Good luck to you guys! Kristy @ Master Your Card’s last blog post: Financial Maxims: In Your 40s

By: RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth

RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:24:02 +0000

Sounds like Micah really did things the right way. I took out about 20-25k, and although most of it went directly to school related costs- I probably could have gotten by on a little less- --wish I had though about it more carefully back then. RC@Thinkyourwaytowealth’s last blog post: A Look at the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit for 2009

By: Writer Dad

Writer Dad — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:41:14 +0000

Man, my wife worked three jobs to pay for college herself. It was Ramen every night. What better way is there to learn hard work and frugality? People like that dude are just setting themselves up for a hard appointment with the pavement. Writer Dad’s last blog post: And the winners are…

By: mrsmicah

mrsmicah — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:19:54 +0000

@Frugal Urbanite That’s a very good question. Micah took out an average of $12,000/year between undergrad, Master’s, & PhD. He didn’t have problems at that level, but he also never tried to get more so I don’t know what he’d have run into.

Maybe the student loan companies (the guy notes that these were private loans) knew he couldn’t declare bankruptcy and figured he’d be good for it, even if it took the rest of his life.

By: Frugal URbanite

Frugal URbanite — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:48:59 +0000

How did he even get someone to give him that much? Mr struggled to get the $15,000 a year he needed (and had to work to make up the rest) and he came from a family with nothing. We're stilling living like grad students (we even have a roommate from Mr's job), but if it means getting rid of the extra debt, we're happy to do it. Frugal URbanite’s last blog post: But is it really frugal?