piggington's first round draft choice

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Submitted by temeculaguy on May 19, 2012 - 11:08am

I've been away, so I apologize if everyone has already seen this and discussed it.

http://nomoreharvarddebt.com/

It's a story of a guy who changed his lifestyle and paid off his student loan from Harvard. There's a cool video in the middle of the page.

But that's not what I want you to take away from this. I want you to realize the impact the financial meltdown has had on the next generation. Just like the depression, WWII, the protests of the 60's, the materialism and profits of the 80's, each generation breaks from the previous ones and the events of their time forms their opinions in ways that are unique to them.

Those of us on this site broke from convention rather early, we zigged before the world zagged. What we didn't realize at the time, is that the kids were watching. The future will be fine.

‹ OT: This is why we need a balanced government OT: "Act Now: Get $30000 cash back from Bank of America if you short sale before..." ›

Nice video. Wonder why the
Submitted by ocrenter on May 19, 2012 - 12:00pm.

Nice video.

Wonder why the interest on the student loan was so high. I consolidated mine around a decade ago at 2.5%. Does the generally low interest rates over the last few years not apply to student loans?

Other things to add. The key here is to understand pre-tax cost vs post-tax cost. For example, that $500/month you save by not hiring a maid, a gardener, a pool guy, and being off cable is post tax saving. Depending on your tax bracket, that amount may have been $700-900 pre-tax. Looking at things from that prospective really magnifies the importance of saving and keeping your monthly overhead down.

No coffee from the on-site
Submitted by outtamojo on May 19, 2012 - 12:18pm.

No coffee from the on-site Starbucks for me: I drink the free stuff provided by our cafeteria. The youngsters go to Starbucks sometimes 2 times a day during the course of their shift.

I don't know where the
Submitted by bearishgurl on May 19, 2012 - 1:47pm.

I don't know where the subject lives but saw in his video where he stated he was a homeowner living on $2900+ per month while he paid off his student loan. As a homeowner myself, I have lived off $2700 - $3300 net for years (not months, as he did) and find it exceedingly difficult when utilities and insurance of every kind keeps going up, not to mention gas and food. And fuggetaboutit if your house ends up needing a repair!

I couldn't believe it when he said he spent an avg of $1700+ every month on entertainment before he decided to pay off his student loans! WTF??? That is an avg of about $58 per day!!

I applaud him for selling extra vehicles and "stuff," getting roommates and doing odd jobs to retire his $102K student debt in 6-7 months! The vast majority of student-loan holders just pay the minimum payments due or defer their debt into oblivion (and accrue mounting interest) until the debt is completely unmanageable and then cry wolf. This occurs no matter HOW much they're making. Their "lifestyle" just grows along with the paycheck with no regard for trying to actually reduce their debt. :={

ocrenter wrote:Nice video.
Submitted by bearishgurl on May 19, 2012 - 2:18pm.

ocrenter wrote:
Nice video.

Wonder why the interest on the student loan was so high. I consolidated mine around a decade ago at 2.5%. Does the generally low interest rates over the last few years not apply to student loans?...

If a student loan is "private" and not insured by Sallie Mae, its annual interest rates tended to be 6.5% - 8.5%, depending on when it was taken out.

Impressive article. As
Submitted by flyer on May 19, 2012 - 5:40pm.

Impressive article.

As someone with older kids who are in their late 20's, I'm glad to hear some of the younger people are willing to do whatever it takes to get their finances under control, and plan for their future.

If I'm not mistaken, the subject of the Harvard Blog lives in Texas, and, if so, the low cost of living there was, no doubt, a contributing factor to his successful financial plan.

Our kids were never interested in leaving CA, (one went to NYC for awhile, but is now back), and, thankfully, they have been able to succeed financially in the state they love, but many of their friends have left for lower-cost-of-living locations out of necessity.

I think it's great that many young people are willing to do whatever they need to do in order succeed. As the OP mentioned, it appears lessons have been learned.

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