Losing momentum

mr.broderick

neas wrote: »

Must say you must've been a partier to get that much debt.

Student loan debt (which is a different type of debt imo) is on average about 9.5-10k

Other things like your credit cards are a bad way to live... any student could realise this.

No offence to you but I didnt pop 3-5k on a credit card as a student... this would be insane to do.. due to the interest rates involved. Instead I didn't go out as much, I worked 16 hours a week... and slapped all the extra money into an isa.

Because my parents earned too much, we are going back to the nineties here by the way i didn't qualify for a grant as such, instead i had 3 loans totalling nearly 5k this was the debt i had, i had a job cleaning cars on saturdays and sundays at a main dealers, cleaning cars on the pitch, i got £35 a week for doing this. I did live with my parents though but didn't sponge off them. I now work at that same garage selling the cars and i dont mind mucking in with the lads who come to clean pitch cars at the weekend, good for the soul.

LillyJ

It also depends on how many years you go for and what course you do. Medical and Nursing students for example don't get any extra funds but don't have the long summer holidays and are on full time placement plus all their course work so it is harder to work part time. (although it can be done).
If you go for many years it is also harder to keep debt down.

neas

its harder now i will give you that when i went through 1k tuition was alot... now its 3k tuiton and about 3.5k for accomodation.

needing 9k to live on approx per year... its tough, but they 'will get' good jobs .... depends on the definition of good...

I think the university system is our best industry ever... its milking 50% of people...

neverdespairgirl

neas wrote: »

Must say you must've been a partier to get that much debt.

Student loan debt (which is a different type of debt imo) is on average about 9.5-10k

Not at all, it depends on the courses, etc.

If you want to be a barrister, for example, you are looking at £3k per year tuition fees for the undergrad, £11k for the bar school, and living expenses on top of that. And during pupillage as well.

kristianwilliams

I did a joint degree (thats two degrees running side by side) which cut down on any free time I had. I actually had to study, spending hours a night in halls reading, making notes, and not really drinking.

I have no idea where my money went. After the first year, I found working night shifts in a pub ment I was too tired to work in uni. I quit work and thus, lived basicly off my CC's and OD. Wish I could account for all the money gone, but it went on rent, food, bills, books (jesus, the books each month was worth more than my rent, yet now they are all out of date and worth nothing...plus there full of notes and scribbles and highlights)

Really wish I could've stayed out of debt, but everytime I needed food, It was a choice of CC, or begging, or try and do a hobble for someone. I'll admit I was too proud to beg, and hobbles were few and far between. So I ended up using CC's to buy bread, food, etc etc.

I nearly quit uni because I could'nt afford it, but I stuck with it. Out of the 100 people that started the course with me, by the 3rd year I was the only one left. The others had found it too hard and dropped one of them or the other.

Im also proud to admit my debt, I know i have it and I am currently working to be rid of it (working and paying it off, all my flat is furnished with stuff from freecycle, and I own my own car, thats dented and faded, and worthless but its mine).

I was offered a mortgage when I was looking for a flat to rent with my GF (another story) and I turned it down, a 100% mortgage to me was not in my best interest, I knew that. So I took the decision to pay off my debts, then save for a house.

I'm also not naive enough to start researching about houses a few months before I start looking. A house to me, will be a home. Somewhere I hope to spend my life. So I start now, getting a grasp of how the wheel turns, watching the figures long term.

Maybe im not qualified to discuss this with "actual homeowners" but one would believe that although I have never owned a home, Im not stupid enough to not know what is going on in the world today.

I took a comment the wrong way, and I've said sorry about that. bur Mr Broaderick seems to want to make this about my debt. I will like to point out that I am an intelligent and articulate individual. One that takes offense that my debt should be seen as a factor to my intelligence.

neas

When i went through (2001-2005... did a combined MEng degree to save money) It was £1025, £1050, £1075, £1100 for each of the years.

Now its worse .

Theres a real risk though... that even the 'good' courses won't provide you with the salary you expect.

The sad thing is that with inflation the 15k limit that people NEED to go over... WILL be reached by everyone within 8-10 years... meaning if you get a crap job after your degree your income will be eroded even more.

Its a rat race... plain and simple and I am obviously a fortunate one who got a reasonably good job in the electronics industry. Luckily they are crying out for new graduates in my sector. If it was different I'd probably be screwed./... living poor for many years.

I have 10k student loan debt now... but have 25k savings with my partner in isas and other interest accounts.

Its weird i dont see my student loan as a debt... just something that reduces my salary by 1k a year... I get paid more than I would've if I hadn't been to uni (after working for 3 years) and am glad and fortunate I PERSONALLY went to uni. i often worry how many graduates will be able to say the same.

LillyJ

Kristian, Don't worry you really don't need to justify yourself at all. You got in debt, which you aren't happy about, and you spent it on living, not on plasma screen teles, which is often rare these days.

neverdespairgirl

Lilly's absolutely right. Debt spent on a good education is an investment, not like blowing it all on fancy holidays and electronic junk.

Don't let silly people offend you, it's not worth it.

neas

Dont get me wrong I'm not shouting out your debt just saying... that when tuition fees were 1k... for me personally summer jobs and working sat/sun at B+Q... and not going out as much Helped me keep my debts low... and even have 6k in an isa at the end of it.

mr.broderick

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Lilly's absolutely right. Debt spent on a good education is an investment, not like blowing it all on fancy holidays and electronic junk.

Don't let silly people offend you, it's not worth it.

You calling me silly you stalker? I didn't mean to offend him even though he called me a racist because he has no concept of slang language, you really are getting on my nerves now.