I am incredulous at the costs listed under the photo of Melody Stewart (12/12/06), in particular...$1,200 for rent, cable, utilities; Food: $920 Car payment: $1,200 Clothing: $400-$600 Sundries: $200 Entertainment: $320-$480 TOTAL: $7,142-$7,602
Subtract out the tuition and books and you have a monthly buget of $4,800 (approx)!!! Since when does anyone, particularly a single person going to school, require almost $5,000 a month to live?! No wonder adults (actually kids who won't grow up) are tending to stay in school longer--they've got it made.
This is not directed at Melody, but at the mindset of our society. College should be a time to prepare, learn and develop discipline...as in NOT spending hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars per month on quality of life and entertainment-related "necessities."
Think about it: You CAN live without cable/satellite. You CAN eat cheap, self-prepared meals. You CAN do without new clothes, even for an entire semester. You CAN drive a dependable, decent car for a few hundred dollars a month, including insurance. You CAN have a social life without spending money every weekend going out.
What a setup--to enable our kids to live this way while in college. Seems like they are certain to have trouble when they graduate, for then their standard of living is supposed to increase even more. But of course it should, for "Now I have a degree, and I should have the perfect job making a large salary, complete with benefits and perks."
BTW--I have children, I have a college degree, and I don't make enough money to live on the budget illustrated above, even after the tuition and book expense is deducted...
Yes, I am ranting and raving
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