Because before I was a poor student I was a well-paid software engineer. Not as well-paid as I would’ve liked (and not well-paid enough to buy a degree in cash)

Because before I was a poor student I was a well-paid software engineer. Not as well-paid as I would’ve liked (and not well-paid enough to buy a degree in cash), but enough to have taxes withheld from my paycheck. The money they owed me was mostly that withheld cash.