4 ms·

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." I usually just chuckle when I hear that statement, but oh man does it apply here. Something about the first sto

by bmelton 18y ago

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." I usually just chuckle when I hear that statement, but oh man does it apply here. Something about the first story doesn't add up, which unfortunately makes me less than sympathetic. I don't see how she planned to go through years of law school with no money. Either she had enough money saved up for living expenses + tuition (in which case, she still should, as she would have saved 3/4 of that,) or she had a scholarship... in which case, she should have stayed enrolled until she found a job. I get that the circumstances MIGHT have been unforeseeable, but Aesop knew it way back in the day, and it really seems like common sense.

lacker 18y ago
I agree the first story doesn't add up. She's still making $20k with her part-time work - a lot of people are worse off! You can survive on $20k in the Detroit area. Instead, she lost her car and got evicted. I'm guessing she didn't prepare financially for being a student, and she still hasn't readjusted her expenditures.
- Retric 18y ago
  Two years ago I owned my car and had a roommate so when I was unemployed for 6 months and it was no big deal. Now my apartment is 1515$ a month an my car payment is 500$ a month. There is no way in hell I could pay that while making 20k / year. If your making X and drop down to 1/4 X then all those obligations that seemed reasonable at the time are just not possible.
  - lacker 18y ago
    Exactly, which is why if you drop down to 1/4X you need to move out of that $1500 apartment. If someone ignores the problem until your car is repossesed and you get evicted, there are people more deserving of sympathy. Also, I think $1515 a month in Detroit gets you a castle with a moat around it.
  - bmelton 18y ago
    You know, I was kind of nodding along with your statement until it hit me that our generation's definition of "living within your means" is likely far different from that of our parents'. My father, if he lost his job, would be fine, probably for a year or better. Perhaps it's our generation, having grown up with credit cards and availability as the norm, but my dad (and definitely his) has always been a 'cash' payment sort of guy. I remember a discussion I had after starting a new job, after having been laid off from my previous one, in which I made the comment that I'm striving to get to 40% savings. He laughed at me, claiming how impractical it was, and how I couldn't afford to live off only 60% of what I made... but having just done so for awhile, I knew the benefit of having a safety net... and I was just lucky before that I found employment before my savings ran out.
joeyo 18y ago
Many people pay for law school with student loans. This could easily be $150k+, depending on the law school. Unfortunately, this can spell trouble if you do not finish law school and thus can't get a high paying job. Still more unfortunate, even if you do finish law school, you may end up with long hours and doing uninteresting work simply to pay off the loans. The interesting legal work that many people go to law school to do (eg at non-profits or with the government) rarely pays enough to allow one to support themselves and pay off significant loans.

by bmelton 18y ago

lacker 18y ago

I agree the first story doesn't add up. She's still making $20k with her part-time work - a lot of people are worse off! You can survive on $20k in the Detroit area. Instead, she lost her car and got evicted. I'm guessing she didn't prepare financially for being a student, and she still hasn't readjusted her expenditures.

Retric 18y ago
Two years ago I owned my car and had a roommate so when I was unemployed for 6 months and it was no big deal. Now my apartment is 1515$ a month an my car payment is 500$ a month. There is no way in hell I could pay that while making 20k / year. If your making X and drop down to 1/4 X then all those obligations that seemed reasonable at the time are just not possible.
- lacker 18y ago
  Exactly, which is why if you drop down to 1/4X you need to move out of that $1500 apartment. If someone ignores the problem until your car is repossesed and you get evicted, there are people more deserving of sympathy. Also, I think $1515 a month in Detroit gets you a castle with a moat around it.
- bmelton 18y ago
  You know, I was kind of nodding along with your statement until it hit me that our generation's definition of "living within your means" is likely far different from that of our parents'. My father, if he lost his job, would be fine, probably for a year or better. Perhaps it's our generation, having grown up with credit cards and availability as the norm, but my dad (and definitely his) has always been a 'cash' payment sort of guy. I remember a discussion I had after starting a new job, after having been laid off from my previous one, in which I made the comment that I'm striving to get to 40% savings. He laughed at me, claiming how impractical it was, and how I couldn't afford to live off only 60% of what I made... but having just done so for awhile, I knew the benefit of having a safety net... and I was just lucky before that I found employment before my savings ran out.

joeyo 18y ago

Many people pay for law school with student loans. This could easily be $150k+, depending on the law school. Unfortunately, this can spell trouble if you do not finish law school and thus can't get a high paying job. Still more unfortunate, even if you do finish law school, you may end up with long hours and doing uninteresting work simply to pay off the loans. The interesting legal work that many people go to law school to do (eg at non-profits or with the government) rarely pays enough to allow one to support themselves and pay off significant loans.