Taking care of yourself financially

[Cwadda]

I come from a pretty  well-off family, but it has always been I have to pay for half of everything until I'm out of college, where I will be on my own financially. I pay for half of college, car, car insurance, repairs, phone, and everything like that. I don't pay for rent or food to my parents when I'm at home, but I pay in full for anything else for myself (entertainment, dinners, etc).

Now that I'm in college, I see that around 70% of my friends don't pay for anything, and another 15% pay for a few things (like books only or part of a car). I also have 2 jobs in college, but the majority of people I know have just summer jobs. So I'd say roughly 15% of my friends have the same or higher level of financial responsibility as myself.

I feel like having "skin in the game" has really shaped my financial habits and gotten me so interesting in investing, frugality, financial education, and financial independence. There are times where I have seriously considered asking my parents if I could start paying for everything.

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

[nereo]

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

1) Undergrad my parents paid for my tuition and 50% of what it would cost to live on-campus.  I covered books, food, spending-money and half the rent.  I was motivated to find cheap off-campus housing where my parents contribution went further.
In grad-school I paid for it all (with some loans), but my parents typically paid for my flights home for xmas and major family events.
2) I think it was a good balance. I think my friends who had it all paid for were generally lazy and didn't learn great money skills.  I also saw how bone-crushingly hard it was for friends who had to go to school full time AND spend 40+ hours/week working to pay for it all or take out huge loans.  I've seen studies that indicate that students who work part time actually do better (higher GPA, graduate sooner) than ones that have everything paid for.
3) I would have worked a bit more in graduate school, and chased more grants.  Also I wouldn't have spent quite as much on silly things that lost their value (on a tv, on a used-but-still-pretty-new car).

[lexie2000]

My parents paid for my dorm room and I paid for everything else (tuition, books, phone, incidentals, etc.) for the first two years.  When I was a junior, my summer job(s) weren't enough to cover the next year's expenses, so I became an RA (dorm mom) and got a part-time job in a lab on campus.  My folk compensated me a little bit for having a job that covered my room and board and with that and my part time job I was able to cover tuition, books, fees, etc.

I think having skin in the game is important.  Since I was paying for my education, I certainly was not going to squander my money partying at the expense of skipping classes and screwing up my grades.

[frompa]

As I came from a family with little financial resource, I paid for all of my college and grad school expenses, except the portion paid by grants.  This fact made me maintain the high value for education that my family had inculcated over my younger years.  Yet, in your case, your "having" to pay for it all would be something of a fiction, as you know your family is good for at least half of it.  So I'd recommend, value your education, work hard at it, and if you want more of a financial challenge, earn some money to invest, and go for it.  Good luck.

[zinethstache]

I was a product of irresponsible high school kids. In fact my father did not finish high school (he had to get a job) and my mom graduated while pregnant. In those days abortions were not the norm thank god.

So fast forward to my own high school graduation. $300/mo rent kicked in and I went to Community College with 2 partial scholarships and worked 2 part time jobs/ I did not like the fragmented lifestyle and had always worked so wanted more consistent money. I got a full time job and it paid tuition. I went to school for 14 years, paid for by the two companies I had worked full time for.

Finally graduated at 32 with honors, B.S. in Computer Science. No student loans and already in my career, married, owned a house. Only debt was the house payment. I cannot fathom students taking on so much debt right out of the gate just so they don't have to work while going to school.

[mxt0133]

Since my parents didn't have much, they couldn't pay for my undergrad.  I guess they would have co-signed loans since they expected us to go to college but luckily my brother and I both got full scholarships.  Since my parents didn't have much when we were growing up, we got jobs if we wanted fancy clothes and toys.  We got a small allowance when we were smaller for things other than food and school expenses.  Because of that I was very good at delaying short term wants for long term goals.  I wasn't always good at it but it definitely shaped how I am with money.

The thing that I would change if I could go back would have been to question the status quo more, I hardly questioned why things were the way they were even if it didn't seem quite right.  With regard to finances and education.  Why did we have to go to college immediately if we had not idea what we even wanted to do right after high school, ect.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

My parents provided my living quarters while I was in college. They also picked up my health insurance and car insurance. Everything else was on me. Fortunately scholarships paid for my tuition and books. I worked part-time pretty much throughout college, which paid for my gas, food, beer, etc.

I also paid for about $30,000 of my wife's college education (loans). Her parents paid for her car and she was on the hook for the rest. After a year of marriage and work, she quit her job to be a SAHM, so that meant I was on the hook for the rest. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

It was really not a hardship to have a job in college. It really didn't help me in the financial department as much as I would have liked. I have always made it a point to save my money for things that are important to me, but it wasn't until pretty recently that I realized that early retirement was something worth prioritizing, and I kicked my savings into high gear accordingly. I should really be much farther along than I am.

[Jamesqf]

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

1) Everything.  Didn't graduate until my mid-30s, after detours through the military and various forms of (un)employment.

2) Really an unanswerable question.

3) Sure, if I could change things, I'd choose to have been born with a substantial trust fund :-)  Realistically, if I could deal with the system with the benefit of the knowledge I have now, I likely could have gamed it better, and maybe gone straight through college from high school.  But there was just so much that the people in charge seemed to have assumed that 'normal' people would know (or be told by parents &c) that I didn't know, and usually didn't even know that I didn't know.

[elaine amj]

My family is well off. In my original plan, my father would have paid for everything (he did for my brother who is 1 yr older). I would have spent 2 years in private college living at home and then my 2 final years in an Australian university ("twinning" is a common practice in Asia). I decided I wanted to go to a Canadian university and convinced my parents explaining my 4 years in Canada was the same price as the 2 years in Australia. I also said I would work to pay my living expenses.

In the end, my father paid tuition and books. He also paid living expenses my first year so I had a chance to "get settled". From 2nd yr on, I got a part time job waitressing (10 hours a week) and that paid for all my living expenses. Sure learned how to be frugal then! My rented room was a tiny 8x8 box none of my friends could imagine living in. While I knew my dad would cover my living expenses, I wanted to prove I could do it - and I did. Lived quite comfortably too (IMO anyway).
I liked how it was set up for me. I had to work to live but did not feel undue pressure. Since I lowered my spending habits, I was able to survive on very little and still spend a lot of time with friends and on my studies. I never felt work was a burden.

I felt independent and while my financial attitude was set long before I had to work to support myself, it built my confidence to know I could do it.

My husband's family is not well-off and he paid his own way (while living at home). He wanted our kids to do the same "to have some skin in the game" but I have convinced him that a gentler approach would work too. We have been saving since birth to pay for tuition and they can cover everything else (including rent if they live with us). We have started bringing this up frequently as they are now 11 and 12 and should begin to prepare and think about saving.

[Mr. FI]

1) My parents saved enough money for both me and my oldest sister to go to a 4 year school and not pay for a thing. Until the economy collapsed (I think between me and my sister's accounts they lost $20,000) but it also came back up some by the time I graduated.

2) I ended up wanting to take on more responsibility after my sophomore year (where my grades sucked). So I got a couple scholarships, I qualified for fafsa since my sister was in college at the same time, I made the track team, got a 30-40 hr week job and my grades soared despite having way less time on my hands. My parents didn't have the money to save for my younger brother and my other sister so I wanted to leave them as much as I could. I ended up leaving $10,000 for them when I could have easily used all of it.3

3) I would have worked more to start and been more economical. I was fortunate to graduate with 0 debt thanks to my parents, but I didn't work as hard as I should have until my junior year and even then I didn't have the best financial habits in place. It wasn't until recently (this year) that I started investing and budgeting.

Financial know-how is sorely lacking in America's education so the fact you're already on the path gives you a huge advantage. Don't worry about being a bit of an outcast among your friends, embrace it. I still have lots of friends who lack any financial savvy and lots of college debt.

[MissStache]

My upper middle class parents paid for everything- tuition, books, rent, and meal plan, plus gave me spending money for gas (they paid for the car and insurance), food, and some entertainment.  It wasn't a huge amount of money, and I had part time jobs almost the entire time in was in college for extra spending money.  My parents were incredibly generous and I was incredibly lucky.

Now, I went to a state school with very cheap tuition given the quality education I got, so they were able to afford it without too much trouble.  I wanted to go to an expensive out-of-state school and instead I settled for a very good school that was in my hometown with their agreement that I wouldn't have to pay for anything (nor would I be responsible for any student loans).  Our agreement was that the money would stop as soon as I graduated. 

They also set me on a very good path when I was younger, teaching me about savings and budgeting, so I made it out of school with no debt of any kind and a good financial head on my shoulders when it came time for me to support myself and had even managed a few thousand in savings.  I certainly dabbled in debty in my early 20s, with credit cards and an auto loan, but it was never excessive (though I definitely regret it now).

I wouldn't change anything about the experience, except for going back in time to thank my parents profusely every time I saw them!

I had three roommates in college- two from out of state who ended up with 30-40K in student loan debt (including one who had student loans taken out in her name by her mother without her even knowing about it!), and one from my hometown who was in a similar financial situation as me but who graduated with tens of thousands of dollars in consumer credit card debt on stupid purchases.  Luckily she met a man who made her pay off her debts before they married and who taught her to be responsible with her spending. 

That's a long-winded way of saying that there are some of us out there who were handed everything on a silver tin platter and still made it out OK in the end :)

[thepokercab]

My family was not of a lot of means, so I didn't get a ton of monetary support.  I did get the occasional hundred bucks or so when I would come home during Thanksgiving or something- which I was always very appreciative for. 

I went to school in a state that offers 'lottery scholarships' to in-state residents who are able to maintain a certain GPA.  So I was always able to get my tuition and fees covered.  Then- i also qualified for some pell grants and work study funds to pay for living expenses, books, etc..  I started working my first semester in school for the work study funds, and the department was always awesome about keeping me on payroll, even when my work study ran out. 

Regardless of this, I was not great with money in school.  Constantly over-drafted my checking account, put thousands of bucks on a credit card and paid just the minimum payment, etc..  So, while I definitely on my own once I hit college, i made a lot of financial mistakes.  I did eventually get out of debt after college, but man, sometimes I think about how much of a head start I could have gotten on this whole FI thing if I knew what I knew at age 20 as opposed to 30.   

[BFGirl]

I also paid for about $30,000 of my wife's college education (loans). Her parents paid for her car and she was on the hook for the rest. After a year of marriage and work, she quit her job to be a SAHM, so that meant I was on the hook for the rest. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

I just have a comment about this and I am not trying to criticize you or put you on the defensive.  I had some school loans from law school when I got married.  I have worked the entire time that we have been married.  My husband insisted that we go ahead and pay off the loans early on.  I didn't have a problem with that as we had the money to do it.  My husband's job requires that he works long hours and has an irregular work schedule.  As a result, I was never able to devote the hours it would take for me to earn a six figure income because someone had to be there for our kids.  He has made the comment on many occasions about how "he" paid for my law school.  That really upsets me because I thought we were a team and that this was a joint financial decision.  Needless to say, his attitude has basically always been that he paid for everything because I didn't make near what he did. As a result of this and other issues, I am divorcing him after 21 years. IMHO, marriage is meant to be a partnership and when the parents make a choice that one of them will give up part of their earning potential, it is not fair for the other spouse to represent that "they" are the ones paying for everything.  End rant...

About my college financing:  My parents would pay my tuition, books and fees if I went to the university where my Dad worked and they would pay my living expenses if I lived at home.  I was on my own for a car.  I worked full time through the majority of college and moved out on my own as a sophomore.  My parents would help a little if I ran short on expenses.  I took out loans for law school and worked part time when I could.

As for my daughter's education:  My soon to be ex will pay for her tuition, books and fees and I will pay for her living expenses while she lives with me.  I have told her I expect her to get at least a part time job and that if she moves out, I will continue to pay for some things, but she will have to pay for the rest.  I also told her that if she drops out of school, she will have to get a job and start paying her own expenses.

[sunnyca]

My parents went through a really ugly divorce when I was in high school, so I ended up being responsible for everything financially in college.  I stayed at home, but contributed to the rent.  So I worked full-time and went to school full-time.
 
I think this really helped shape my financial attitude today, and really hammered home the value of a dollar.  Additionally, had my parents paid for college, I might have gone to a more expensive school, and gotten a different degree.  Instead, I went to a Cal State, graduated with a degree in Accounting, and obtained my CPA.  Graduated with no loans and a little bit of savings.
 
It was tiring at the time, but knowing what I know now?  I wouldn't change a thing.

[CommonCents]

1. How much financing were you responsible for?

College: My parents offered to pay a sum equivalent to get me mostly through a low cost state school.  I opted for a private (Ivy League) school and paid them back for the difference.  I got a part-time job to pay for books, incidentals, clothes, entertainment, etc.  I had no car - for years and years after as well. 

Grad: 100% me.

2. How has that shaped the way you are today?

I appreciated my education without feeling crippled by loans, or unable to choose to attend a pricer school.  I also met my husband indirectly though it!  (Both played on an alumni soccer team post college.)

Unlike many on here, I think going to my particular school really did help me in my career in ways that the available state school would not have.  (Actually, a whole 'nother headache was that the state school didn't actually think I should get state tuition, despite their own rules saying a military kid with residency in that state gets it.  After arguing with them my father ultimately at least had fun telling them I was going to the Ivy school in that state instead.  But I digress.)

It also makes me think kids can pay back their educational loans.  (DH believes we need to pay for kid's college and we can't afford to and also retired early, therefore we should not have kids.)

3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

Nope.  Although I would have tried harder to work for professors in my field of interest rather than for the library for 4 years. 

[Zikoris]

1. I've always paid for any schooling I decided to have.
2. It made me very conscious of every dollar I spent, because I thought of things in terms of how many graveyard fast food shifts they required.
3. I would skip post-secondary all together, maybe take some courses that would help me get into an entry-level office role (like Microsoft Office, or basic bookkeeping), and focus on cutting expenses, building wealth, and retiring by age 30. It will take a bit longer now, since I didn't get seriously started until I was 24 - had I started at 18 when I first moved out on my own, I would be WAY ahead of where I am now.

[iwasjustwondering]

I

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

1.  Everything.  I got into very good, Ivy League schools, but ended up having to go to a crappy Tier 3 school because they gave me a full-tuition, four-year academic scholarship.  I then had to take out loans and work 20-40 hours per week year-round to make ends meet.
2.  It probably limited my horizons too much.  I don't think it was right.  My parents should have given me a break.  I was the capable one, so I had to put myself through school. My siblings were less capable, so they had college paid for.
3.  Yes, honestly I would have taken out the loans to pay for the expensive schools.  I would have stayed in academia.  I would have been fine financially.  Being broke and scared for so long is not a good thing, IMO.  There can be long-term damage.

[Weyfarere]

1. How much financing were you responsible for?

My parents let me live with them for undergrad; I don't remember whether I paid them "rent" during that time. Scholarships/grants covered everything else, though I also had a part-time job for a bit. For grad school, I got a fellowship that covered everything, with careful budgeting.
ETA: My parents did pay for my health insurance.

2. How has that shaped the way you are today?

I'm not sure.

3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

I'd consider staying in college (undergrad) an extra year to try to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up.

[LowER]

1) I paid 100% for all 16 years of post high school education.
2) Yes - it made me kind of a hard ass.
3) Yes - I wouldn't have worked so hard and would have lived on my lottery winnings or massive inheritance.

[Mr. Frugalwoods]

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

1) My parents told me that they would give me the equivalent of in-state tuition for 4 years.  I could choose to use it wherever I wanted to go to college.  Thankfully I went to an in-state school and got some grants.  My folks paid room and board my freshman year, and I was responsible for everything other than tuition sophomore to senior year.

2) I think this was a great system.  It gave me choice, but also guided my choice.  I think I did better in school by not having to focus on a job freshman year, but I knew I needed one by sophomore year in order to pay rent and food.  By the time I hit senior year I really knew how to budget both time and money, and ended up saving a couple thousand before graduation.

3) Not a thing.

[luigi49]

Have to say your family is lucky to have you.  Hope my son have friends like you although he has really great friends.

[Cwadda]

Shout out to all the folks who paid for everything, and also out to ones that didn't, but still came to realize the value of financial responsibility in their own way.

My parents both came from nothing. Dad got a full ride for basketball and mom came from a farm and had her parents scoffing at the idea of college.

[Argyle]

My parents did not make a lot of money but they were careful and frugal and had lived through the Great Depression.  They saved faithfully and even the extravagant things they did (for instance a lot of foreign travel) were done the cheapest way possible.

So they saved enough for my entire college education at a very expensive school.  I did not pay a dime.

But because of their example, when I went on to graduate school, I made sure I got as many scholarships as possible, and I worked my way through.  I graduated from graduate school having taken out only one $5000 loan.  My parents wanted to give me the money, but I wouldn't let them.  I paid off the $5000 loan the first year I was out of graduate school.  Since then I have followed my parents' example and even my extravagant purchases I make in the most frugal way I can. 

I intend to pay for my kids' college education as much as I can — the full ride, if I can — because I appreciate my parents' paying for mine so much.  A lot of my friends were exhausted working their way through school.  I loved the freedom of not working, and it inspired me to spend as much of my time not working as I can.

So another vote for the fact that not working your way through college can end well.

[bikebum]

1. I lived with my parents while at community college. They gave me free room and board, a vehicle to use, and paid car insurance and cell phone on the family plans. I paid for my gas, tuition and books, and fun stuff. When I moved to a university, I paid for everything except the car insurance and cell phone. Parents bought me food sometimes and took me on cool trips. My last year I got some grants because I was old enough to not count an estimated family contribution on the FAFSA.

2. I learned a lot of finance skills since my parents didn't pay for everything. This was the first time in my life I had to make real decisions about my life. I actually took a year off in the middle to mountain bike and surf because I thought I wasn't doing the right thing. When I decided to go back to school, I new exactly why I was there and worked my ass off!

3. I can't think of anything I would want to change.

[MrsPete]

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

1.  I was responsible for 100% of my college costs.  My parents had more children than they could afford.  If everything had gone exactly right: that is, job had continued, economy had cooperated, no medical issues or other big financial problems ever, they'd have been okay.  But no one ever goes through life without any financial problems.  When everything came crashing down, they did not handle it well, and we grew up with a very unhealthy example of how to manage money.

When it came to college, my mother actively tried to dissuade me from attending.  She herself had not "been ready", and she flunked out.  She wanted to see me work a few years, though she wasn't willing to help me obtain a car to get to work (and I'm only talking about helping me locate a car and cosigning -- I wasn't asking for money), which was a necessity in our rural area.  Some years my parents did my FAFSA paperwork, other years they refused.  The messages from my house hold concerning college were very, very mixed. 

2.  It made me bitter.  I understood that my parents didn't have the money, but they could've provided me with guidance and emotional support -- what I got was the exact opposite.  They threw roadblocks in my path.  Even just being allowed to live at home would've been a help, but they made it clear that it was inappropriate for a child 18 years old /out of high school to live at home.  They did allow one of my siblings to remain in the house a few months after graduation (paying rent and a share of all bills) because he was going into the Air Force at the end of the summer, and they agreed that it was impractical to locate other housing for such a short time.  Today we're on good terms (the grandchildren did that for us), but I place limits on our relationship -- I don't think they realize this, which is neither here nor there.  We never, never, never discuss money; and they will never live with me when they're elderly.   

3.  If I had it to do again, I would join the military.  I never considered it then because it wasn't what smart kids did in the 80s, especially girls.  If I had it to do again, I'd do a stint in the military, live cheaply and save every penny, and then I'd enter college more mature, with savings in my pocket and the GI bill as a help.  Looking back, I see other options that I never considered.  A little guidance would've done me a world of good. 

And an add-on to the "skin in the game" concept:

- I saw kids in college who were extremely grateful that their parents were footing the bill and who worked as hard as they could because they didn't want to waste their parents' sacrifice.  I'm thinking of a roommate who realized her major was wrong for her and wouldn't change it because it would've added a year to her studies, and she felt that was grossly unfair to her parents.  Bad choice on her part, but the idea was founded in her gratitude to them. 
- I saw kids in college who were grossly irresponsible with their parents' money:  Though the details differ, they skipped class, ran up credit cards, etc.  As an RA in the freshman dorms, I saw a lot of this, and these are the kids who don't stay /don't earn degrees. 
- I saw kids in college who worked their fingers to the bone trying to make it financially; some did well in their academics as well as their work, but most were stretched too thin to give 100% to either part.  I was one of these kids.  Looking back, I don't even know how I did it. 
- I saw kids in college who just couldn't manage to make it financially -- and some of them just gave up, quit college altogether.  I knew one kid (my sister's boyfriend) whose uber-wealthy father was determined that he would pay for his first year of college (and he was pretty mean about it -- insisted that it was a financial lesson to be learned, harped on it constantly!).  Like my parents, he wouldn't let the kid live at home, and he also saw community college as beneath his family.  The boy worked constantly his senior year of high school, and he saved . . . but he didn't get any scholarships and didn't qualify for financial aid.  Minimum wage back then was $3.35, and he just didn't have the money for that first year of school.  To "get back at his dad", he came home one day and told his father that he simply couldn't do what he demanded, so he'd just signed up for the military.  I think we'd all agree that joining the military to spite someone is a poor reason.  I don't know what ever became of him.

The bottom  line: The difference in those who appreciated the opportunities and money had little to do with who was footing the bill.  Rather, the two things that made the most difference were 1) whether the student was ready (emotionally and academically) for college, and 2) whether the kid had been raised to appreciate things during his childhood. 

Something I say to my students' parents all the time:  This kid who's about to go to college is the same one who's been living in your house for 18 years.  You know his habits, his motivation level, his emotional readiness.  Make your decisions based upon the kid you have, not upon hopes that he'll suddenly mature or change magically once he's 18 and a high school graduate.   

And I'll end with a story: 

My own 20-year old college sophomore has it pretty easy financially.  We're paying for her tuition, dorm and meal plan.  Her tuition includes books.  She's carrying a (dumb) phone that's in my name, and she's on my insurance.  She doesn't have a car, but we are very willing to drive up to get her anytime she wants to come home.  When she comes home, we always send her back with a big bag of groceries, including a couple homemade meals and other goodies.  She works part-time in the campus health center for her spending money.  According to many people's theories on college spending, she should be goofing off, running wild, flunking out -- but she isn't.  She has near a 4.0, was just admitted to the nursing program for her junior year, and she has been nothing but responsible.  Lately she's become concerned about how she'll make the financial transition between college and work, and she and I have discussed saving, investing and other financial topics (frugal living seems to be the one that interests her most), and she's sought out books in the library.  We pushed personal responsibility from the time she was a small child, and she's exhibiting that behavior now. 

[bikebum]

Here's a story I heard from a friend. I'm not trying to make a point here; it's just a funny story.

Kid moves away for college and parents pay for everything. Kid drops out and doesn't tell parents. Parents keep sending money because they don't know. Kid uses the money to party. I think the parents found out after about a year.

[samburger]

 
That's a long-winded way of saying that there are some of us out there who were handed everything on a silver tin platter and still made it out OK in the end :)

Yep! Hardship doesn't foster frugality. If it did, the US would have a whole class of "the working frugal."

I was (am!) massively privileged: My parents paid for everything, with the explicit reason they wanted me to be free to focus on my studies and follow opportunities that can't necessarily pay massive student loan bills.

That said, I've always been a mustachian waiting to happen. My parents knew I was responsible with money, and they had good reason to believe they could write me a check for 3 months of living expenses and I wouldn't do anything ridiculous with it. I lived on about $7-8k/year when I was away for school, and I did my first two years locally.

I started building my 'stashe less than a year out of school, so it all panned out well.

[Cherry Lane]

I haven't seen my situation on here yet, so here goes (a bit wordy, please bear with me):

1.  My parents' wish was to save enough money to send me to any school I wanted to attend, but things didn't quite work out that way.  They did save quite a bit, and it was enough to pay for all my expenses at a 4-year state school.  When I was looking at colleges and deciding where to apply, they laid it all out for me.  "This is how much we have for you.  You can go to the state school and have everything paid for.  You can go to another school and make up the difference.  If you find another way to pay for school (scholarships, etc), we'll give you whatever you don't spend when you graduate.  You can put it toward a house down payment or something."

The money they had was enough to pay expenses for nearly three years at my chosen school.  I got an ROTC scholarship that would cover tuition and books for the whole time.  My parents weren't thrilled with the ROTC idea, but really tried hard not to influence my decision.  Since the first year of ROTC was commitment-free, my plan was to take the scholarship for the first year, then drop the program and use my parent's money for the rest of the time.  I ended up signing on the dotted line at the start of my second year, so all my tuition and books were paid.  I had enough other little grants and scholarships to pay for living expenses for about the first 1.5 years, then used my parents' money for housing/food expenses for the remaining time.

I worked during summers only, for "spending money" for the year.  I did get an exception to the "you get the money when you're done" policy and withdrew a few thousand dollars after my third year in order to buy a car.  I received the balance about 8 months after graduation.  Since I'd lived frugally in college (relatively cheap housing, sharing a one-bedroom apt, cooking instead of school meal plan, etc), I received a sizable (to a recent college graduate) sum.  I was moving around a lot for Uncle Sam, so I wasn't in a position to buy a house.  I was in the fortunate position of having a bit of money and no need to spend it, so I got some books and learned about finances and investing and index funds. 

I've never spent the money my parent's gave me (except the early bit for the car), but I've grown it into an even bigger amount over the years.

2.  How has it shaped me?  The incentive of a lump sum at the end definitely had my frugality muscles twitching at an early age.  Add in my pride which made me want to show I could live entirely on my own (and not spend that lump sum when I got it), and I became an early investor.

3.  I wouldn't change a thing.

[SwordGuy]

1. How much financing were you responsible for?
My parents let me live at home, fed me, and covered my auto and health insurance costs.  I covered everything else.

2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
Didn't really affect me one way or the other, because I had already been raised to think that way.

3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?
Might have asked a few more girls out on dates, but I'm darn glad I ended up with the one I did...

[goodlife]

I come from a pretty  well-off family, but it has always been I have to pay for half of everything until I'm out of college, where I will be on my own financially. I pay for half of college, car, car insurance, repairs, phone, and everything like that. I don't pay for rent or food to my parents when I'm at home, but I pay in full for anything else for myself (entertainment, dinners, etc).

Now that I'm in college, I see that around 70% of my friends don't pay for anything, and another 15% pay for a few things (like books only or part of a car). I also have 2 jobs in college, but the majority of people I know have just summer jobs. So I'd say roughly 15% of my friends have the same or higher level of financial responsibility as myself.

I feel like having "skin in the game" has really shaped my financial habits and gotten me so interesting in investing, frugality, financial education, and financial independence. There are times where I have seriously considered asking my parents if I could start paying for everything.

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?

I paid for everything myself since I graduated high school. I never took loans, I had full scholarships for both undergrad and grad school and also worked during undergrad with multiple on campus jobs. I didn't have a car and I only got a cell phone junior year of college (and a pre-paid one of course). I didn't have jobs during grad school because my scholarship came with a very generous stipend. My parents didn't have any money...they paid my one-way ticket to the US to start college there, that's it. I have done very well for myself and I think it's a great accomplishment for anyone to have done it all on their own. Teaches you a lot about money, budgeting, financing etc. I wouldn't change a thing if I could do it all over again. When/if I have kids myself, I would not pay for their college eduction either, at least not in full for sure. I don't think I would ever buy my own children a car, I know that's kind of normal in the US, but I still find it strange, I haven't owned a car ever in my life yet and I am doing just fine.

[Capsu78]

My parents paid everything that I couldn't cover with summer jobs... They were very proud to put 5 of us through college and it defined their lives and marriage in many ways.  Dad was very firm, though, that you had to get through in 4 years, so when I explored the concept of taking a year off to earn money so that I didn't have to be a "poor college kid" he put his foot down and said "No Can Do"-  next year starts your sisters slot- you will be on your own, so you better earn enough money to both live this year and pay for college next year.

My wife and I were blessed to be able to get both our kids through college debt free by graduation day- and they both went through in exactly 4 years, so I view the legacy effect as having the greatest influence my life- not every kid in college has that support and certainly not every parent who would like to contribute can. 

So bottom line- the ability to get our kids started off at $0 in adult life defines my life and marriage too. 

[NewStachian]

There are times where I have seriously considered asking my parents if I could start paying for everything.

I had a similar experience. I was very lucky growing up and always had money at my disposal from my parents. But, when I went to college, I still didn't fully understand the value of money. I didn't need to budget because my parents just gave me anything i needed. Because of this, I told my parents to cut me off during sophomore year. They were confused, but it made me start budgeting and learning about investing. (tuition was full ride, so I had very few expenses which made it an easy learning curve)

My recommendation is to do what you need to do to learn the financial skills you will need later in life. But, don't cut yourself off from guilt (which is what I did. None of my peers came from any money). If you're good with your money and don't think you need to learn the lesson, then budget in your parents' matches and start aggressively investing. Keep a standby budget that only has your money to see how much you'd have to throttle down your investing without their help.

[shotgunwilly]

1.  My parents paid for everything during my undergrad.  My dad owned his own very small business and worked his ass off and was smart with money all his life and provided everything for my family, although he wasn't "rich" by any means. He retired briefly after i graduated with seemingly JUST enough. I worked during the summers, and had a few small jobs here in there in college, but they paid for almost everything. Tuition, housing, food, etc.

In school, I quickly figured out that a ton of the majors, (including the one I started in) led to almost nowhere, and weren't worth the money that my parents would be paying.  So I changed majors to Engineering and made their investment worth it. 

2.  With that being said, here's where I think i may stand out from other "spoiled" brats... I have guilt.  Now that I am more mindful of finances, I feel incredibly guilty that I didn't do anything to help my parents... I see how hard my Dad worked for me to go to college, and i wish i would have worked hard too.

3.  I feel as if I wasted a ton of time in college, and I would for sure go back and work my tail off (actual work, not necessarily on academics).

[Cwadda]

There are times where I have seriously considered asking my parents if I could start paying for everything.

I had a similar experience. I was very lucky growing up and always had money at my disposal from my parents. But, when I went to college, I still didn't fully understand the value of money. I didn't need to budget because my parents just gave me anything i needed. Because of this, I told my parents to cut me off during sophomore year. They were confused, but it made me start budgeting and learning about investing. (tuition was full ride, so I had very few expenses which made it an easy learning curve)

My recommendation is to do what you need to do to learn the financial skills you will need later in life. But, don't cut yourself off from guilt (which is what I did. None of my peers came from any money). If you're good with your money and don't think you need to learn the lesson, then budget in your parents' matches and start aggressively investing. Keep a standby budget that only has your money to see how much you'd have to throttle down your investing without their help.

Thanks for the advice.

[okonumiyaki]

Lived in UK when tuition was free.  Parents gave me enough money for basic living costs during term time, vacation jobs paid for everything else

[SDREMNGR]

I came from an Asian family where education was the most important thing you can do.  It was not only expected of me to go to college but doing well in school was the ticket to the good life.  My parents were immigrants with blue collar jobs and I don't think they made more than $70k together ever, but they always saved money, never spent it on stupid things (although they did like their new cars and we always bought new cars and rode it to death) and they bought a house and paid it off in 10 years.

The deal for my sister and me was that we work our asses off in school.  We both had a part time job as Jr and Sr and summer jobs but the way we contributed to our education was to excel in school.  We both got into Ivy League schools which are need blind and if you were relatively poor like we were, they gave you a good financial aid package.  So even though the sticker price was around $42k a year when I went, I made it out with about $25k in student loan and my parents paid about $4k a year for their portion.   I worked a few jobs on campus for spending money but I was comfortable enough to buy books and beer without too much worry.  Looking back, I am glad that I got to enjoy my bright college years with relative ease. Although some of my classmates got some ridiculous spending money, most were like me and most parents didn't give too much spending money.

If I have any advice to give to younger mustachians or parents to kids who are entering high school, the single most important thing you can do even beyond working and saving money is to do your best in school, both in high school and college.  Putting in your work early always makes it easier in life later.  Working hard at school will pay you much more than whatever you will make at that side job.  I graduated as valedictorian with varsity sports letters and captain of this and that (all part of school in my opinion) and was able to get into schools of my choice and lots of scholarships.  Also working hard in college allowed me options for the 1st job, one I took in investment banking paid me $100k as a 1st year grad and I paid off my student loans in one year.

I don't think I could have done it without unquestioning belief that my parents would do whatever they needed to for me to succeed and go to the best school I could get into.  It was only fair that I do my part and work hard in school.  Looking back, they never sat me down and taught me anything about money or budgeting, but you learn it all by seeing their example.   

I am helping manage their money now and they are doing pretty well for a couple of immigrants who never learned to speak English that well.  I got to see the results of Mustachianism first hand growing up and the results now.  In short, my parents are now older but retired and they will never have to worry about money until they die.  They still earn more money from their social security, pension,  real estate investing, and retirement savings than they spend and still live a frugal life.

I'm very lucky to have had good parents and it was a good reminder for Mothers Day coming up.

[sleepyguy]

My questions are these:
1. How much financing were you responsible for?
- I wasn't responsible for much and we were in the lower income brackets growing up.  I didn't blink an eye when my entire paycheck of summer jobs went towards the family, that was only for about 2 summers working at my dads factory.  When I got my full-time job and was still living at home I gave my parents about $300/mth to help with expenses.  I didn't go to university/college so no student loans.

2. How has that shaped the way you are today?
- I was never terrible or awesome with budgeting.  I only started thinking more actively about FIRE/investing about 2yrs ago.  I would say my mindset has changed more due to being with a very financially savvy GF.

3. If you could go back and do it all over again, would you change anything?
- probably preach to my parents about finances and investing so there would be in a better position in life, my mom is in her 60s and still working.  Personally should have put 50%+ of my take home when I was still living with my parents, but I was young and dumb... oh well.  Overall I think everything turned out pretty well and I'm not one too regret too much of anything.

[BFGirl]

If I have any advice to give to younger mustachians or parents to kids who are entering high school, the single most important thing you can do even beyond working and saving money is to do your best in school, both in high school and college.  Putting in your work early always makes it easier in life later.  Working hard at school will pay you much more than whatever you will make at that side job.  I graduated as valedictorian with varsity sports letters and captain of this and that (all part of school in my opinion) and was able to get into schools of my choice and lots of scholarships.  Also working hard in college allowed me options for the 1st job, one I took in investment banking paid me $100k as a 1st year grad and I paid off my student loans in one year.

I have tried and tried to tell my children this.  I made good grades in school and the fact that my class rank was fairly high when I got out of law school got me my first lawyer job.  I have tried to explain to them that hard work when they are younger generally translates to better opportunities when they are older.  They are both teenagers (daughter through with first year of college) and have completely failed to listen to my advice.  I have been submarined by my soon to be ex who wouldn't enforce discipline and who would always tell them that they didn't need to worry about bad grades in elementary and junior high.  Now they barely pass and sometimes even fail classes.  I still tell them they can make it easier on themselves if they make good grades, but am also telling them I am not supporting them into their 30s.

[Davids]

I came from lets just say a lower middle class family. In terms of college I paid for it all myself. Whatever financial aid or grants did not cover I took out student loans. I have paid off my student loans. While in college I worked in work study jobs. My favorite work study job was in the library. My job was basically putting books back on the shelf. Usually 4 hour shifts I was done in no more than 2 hrs and used the rest of the time to basically study or play on the Internet.

[NewStachian]

If I have any advice to give to younger mustachians or parents to kids who are entering high school, the single most important thing you can do even beyond working and saving money is to do your best in school, both in high school and college.  Putting in your work early always makes it easier in life later.  Working hard at school will pay you much more than whatever you will make at that side job.  I graduated as valedictorian with varsity sports letters and captain of this and that (all part of school in my opinion) and was able to get into schools of my choice and lots of scholarships.  Also working hard in college allowed me options for the 1st job, one I took in investment banking paid me $100k as a 1st year grad and I paid off my student loans in one year.

I have tried and tried to tell my children this.  I made good grades in school and the fact that my class rank was fairly high when I got out of law school got me my first lawyer job.  I have tried to explain to them that hard work when they are younger generally translates to better opportunities when they are older.  They are both teenagers (daughter through with first year of college) and have completely failed to listen to my advice.  I have been submarined by my soon to be ex who wouldn't enforce discipline and who would always tell them that they didn't need to worry about bad grades in elementary and junior high.  Now they barely pass and sometimes even fail classes.  I still tell them they can make it easier on themselves if they make good grades, but am also telling them I am not supporting them into their 30s.

For better or worse (highly debatable), you can't force your kids to do anything. I've said this in previous posts, but I can't imagine what my parents must have gone through raising me. They were both exceptionally hard workers and had to sit by while I played video games through high school and barely passed. I went to college and did practically the same thing. After graduation, I went into the Navy for about 6 years. During the last 2 years of that I realized my college grades were not the grades I wanted on my job applications, so I picked up a Masters and landed a highly enjoyable job that paid exceedingly well. I finally learned my lesson regarding work ethic, had no debt, and was on my way to aggressive 'stache accrual. I generally think of myself as a happy and successful person lined up to FIRE by 35, but that would not have been apparent based on my high school and college trajectory.

My overall point is this: Just because I didn't act on my parents' lessons in high school and college didn't mean they didn't eventually sink in. They expressed disappointment in me when I didn't perform well, but never treated me like I was a failure. It was always "we know you can do better". This meant my relationship with my parents was always strong and I knew they accepted me and loved me despite my shortcomings. I never spited them or rebelled against them in any way because they never put that kind of pressure on me - I just didn't see the value in their wisdom until I learned a few hard lessons myself. If you keep focusing on all the positives with your kids and continue stressing that wisdom you want to impart (which it sounds like you're doing anyway), I think it will all work out in the long run.

[BFGirl]

If I have any advice to give to younger mustachians or parents to kids who are entering high school, the single most important thing you can do even beyond working and saving money is to do your best in school, both in high school and college.  Putting in your work early always makes it easier in life later.  Working hard at school will pay you much more than whatever you will make at that side job.  I graduated as valedictorian with varsity sports letters and captain of this and that (all part of school in my opinion) and was able to get into schools of my choice and lots of scholarships.  Also working hard in college allowed me options for the 1st job, one I took in investment banking paid me $100k as a 1st year grad and I paid off my student loans in one year.

I have tried and tried to tell my children this.  I made good grades in school and the fact that my class rank was fairly high when I got out of law school got me my first lawyer job.  I have tried to explain to them that hard work when they are younger generally translates to better opportunities when they are older.  They are both teenagers (daughter through with first year of college) and have completely failed to listen to my advice.  I have been submarined by my soon to be ex who wouldn't enforce discipline and who would always tell them that they didn't need to worry about bad grades in elementary and junior high.  Now they barely pass and sometimes even fail classes.  I still tell them they can make it easier on themselves if they make good grades, but am also telling them I am not supporting them into their 30s.

For better or worse (highly debatable), you can't force your kids to do anything. I've said this in previous posts, but I can't imagine what my parents must have gone through raising me. They were both exceptionally hard workers and had to sit by while I played video games through high school and barely passed. I went to college and did practically the same thing. After graduation, I went into the Navy for about 6 years. During the last 2 years of that I realized my college grades were not the grades I wanted on my job applications, so I picked up a Masters and landed a highly enjoyable job that paid exceedingly well. I finally learned my lesson regarding work ethic, had no debt, and was on my way to aggressive 'stache accrual. I generally think of myself as a happy and successful person lined up to FIRE by 35, but that would not have been apparent based on my high school and college trajectory.

My overall point is this: Just because I didn't act on my parents' lessons in high school and college didn't mean they didn't eventually sink in. They expressed disappointment in me when I didn't perform well, but never treated me like I was a failure. It was always "we know you can do better". This meant my relationship with my parents was always strong and I knew they accepted me and loved me despite my shortcomings. I never spited them or rebelled against them in any way because they never put that kind of pressure on me - I just didn't see the value in their wisdom until I learned a few hard lessons myself. If you keep focusing on all the positives with your kids and continue stressing that wisdom you want to impart (which it sounds like you're doing anyway), I think it will all work out in the long run.

Thank you for this.  My Dad was the same way and he got his sh*t together and went to grad school and everything turned out fine (my parents are now retired and enjoying traveling).  I know my kids will probably be okay because they really are good kids and I continue to try encourage them, but I can't help worrying.  I realized several years ago that I can't force them to do anything and ultimately they have to live with the consequences (good or bad) of their choices.  It probably doesn't help that in my job I see lots of "kids" in their 40s and 50s essentially living off their 70-80 year old parents.

[rosaz]

I'm in the minority on this thread, but I'll bite:

1. I was not responsible for anything beyond spending money until I graduated college. Between my mom (well, mostly just my mom), my dad, my grandparents, and a little financial aid, tuition was paid for, with only a modest student loan ($13k) on my part. I worked for about two years of college, never more than 10 or so hours a week (I wasn't too spendy, so while not working, spending money generally came from money I'd saved while I was). Oh, and I went to fancy-pants private college that was by no means cheap... my mother told us that if we went got into a school that she felt offered something beyond what we'd get at our state school, she'd do what she could to cover the cost. Otherwise, she'd pay for the state school. [Edit: just realized many other people on here mention car expenses, so I should say: if I'd wanted a car I would have been expected to pay all of it, car ownership for teenagers having been seen as a luxury in my family).

2. Hard to say.  I definitely wasn't a wild partier or crazy profligate. I was a bit of a slacker compared to some of my peers (nearly everyone had parents paying), but that was largely a result of attending a school where 35 hours/week of studying (after 18/hrs in class) was considered slacking. Most other places, I'd have been a nerd :) 

I'm only about six years post-graduation, and so I've been fairly professionally successful, though of course it's early days (in my current job, they straight up told me I was largely hired because of my school's reputation - and that after 4 years in the workforce!) I do feel like I was able to take a more demanding major, and be more successful at it, because I never had to put in more than 10 hours working on top of my 50+ hr/week "day job". Having graduated into a difficult economy, it's an advantage for which I am very grateful.

It's definitely shaped me to the extent that I plan on providing the same for my daughter, if possible, and that I take quite seriously the honor of providing for my mother when that need arises. Not that I wouldn't have felt some obligation if she hadn't paid for college - but my sense of duty is definitely heightened by the "all in", fail-or-succeed-as-a-family values that I was raised with.

3. I'd probably take a year off, and work just enough to some a few bills while tackling an interesting internship or something. I was a bit burned out by the time I got to college (high school was grueling!) and I think maybe I would have made more of my first years there if that hadn't been the case.

[MrsPete]

Here's a story I heard from a friend. I'm not trying to make a point here; it's just a funny story.

Kid moves away for college and parents pay for everything. Kid drops out and doesn't tell parents. Parents keep sending money because they don't know. Kid uses the money to party. I think the parents found out after about a year.

That story is full of holes!  Those parents deserved to have their money wasted!

- They couldn't have been receiving bills from the college, so they must've been giving the kid money directly and trusting him to pay the bill himself.
- Did they never ask to see any grades?  Were they not signed up to see accounts and grades online?  If not, why not?  If you're paying, it's perfectly reasonable to have access to the results for which you're paying.
- Did they never visit?  Never realize the kid didn't have any stories to tell about difficult professors or projects done well? 

No sympathy for that set of parents.

[Vorpal]

I agree! A clear lack of involvement was at hand...

FYI, though:

- Were they not signed up to see accounts and grades online?  If not, why not?  If you're paying, it's perfectly reasonable to have access to the results for which you're paying.

I'm not sure how other states are (I assume the same, since I think it's a federal law) but in Texas the only person that can legally access grades is the student, regardless of who is paying the bills.

EDIT: Just looked it up... it's a federal law.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects your college student’s privacy and grants them the exclusive right to view and share their education records such as grades, transcripts, disciplinary records, contact information, and class schedules. Under the law, colleges and universities may not disclose education records to anyone other than the student.

[bikebum]

Here's a story I heard from a friend. I'm not trying to make a point here; it's just a funny story.

Kid moves away for college and parents pay for everything. Kid drops out and doesn't tell parents. Parents keep sending money because they don't know. Kid uses the money to party. I think the parents found out after about a year.

That story is full of holes!  Those parents deserved to have their money wasted!

- They couldn't have been receiving bills from the college, so they must've been giving the kid money directly and trusting him to pay the bill himself.
- Did they never ask to see any grades?  Were they not signed up to see accounts and grades online?  If not, why not?  If you're paying, it's perfectly reasonable to have access to the results for which you're paying.
- Did they never visit?  Never realize the kid didn't have any stories to tell about difficult professors or projects done well? 

No sympathy for that set of parents.

Since it is full of holes, why are you concluding it is the parents' fault? I introduced it by saying it's just a funny story and I'm not making a point. Don't you like funny stories? I do :)

[cbgg]

My parents were very generous.

When in university they paid for all tuition and books.  When I bought my first car, they paid for 50%.  I lived at home and paid no rent and did not pay for groceries.  When I studied abroad (x2!) they paid for my rent and I paid other living costs.  I earned a small amount of scholarship money and they actually let me keep it myself and paid my whole tuition.

I was responsible for all of my discretionary spending (entertainment, restaurant spending, cell phone, gym membership, etc) as well 50% of the aforementioned purchase price of my car and all car related expenses (maintenance, gas, insurance, etc). 

I am grateful to my parents and don't think I was any less serious a student because they helped me.  I was a focused student and got very good grades.  I also participated in extra curriculars, took on internships, always held a part-time job while in school (or full-time during semesters off), and managed to win a lot of awards while in school.  I also took a very practical major (Business) that lead to excellent paid internships and to a good job right out of school. 

I have no doubt that I would have also done well had I paid on my own, but it sure is nice to have been able to graduate with no debt and even a little money in the bank.  I also think it's worth noting that it was not a financial hardship for my parents to pay for my school, and that we are in Canada where tuition costs are reasonable (a few thousand dollars a semester).

[TokyoLotus]

There were definitely a lot unforeseen expenses I had once I graduated and started a job.

As a student, I never had to budget for proper attire, dry cleaning, going out after work (in Japan, it's practically a cultural requirement to not bail) and for any food I would end up buying out because I didn't have time to go home and make dinner.

Between the basic necessities that my parents provided and the cash I made from working during my school years, I actually had more per month than I did in my job lifestyle. The salary sounded good but there were extra things I hadn't considered and taxes that get taken out.

Suddenly it was a wake up call that I wasn't going to have any money to save at the end of the month so I had to tighten up my daily budget to be more strict than when I was a student. I thought gettin a full time job would mean having the ability to move to a nicer non-student-like apartment but that will have to be put on hold.

Aim for a high salary when you get out of college! Think of all the unforeseen expenses you currently don't have.

I got a higher paying job luckily but I think that any new worker in a base salary in Japan lives with their family and doesn't have to pay rent---800bucks saving right there.

Good luck!

[MrsPete]

I agree! A clear lack of involvement was at hand...

FYI, though:

- Were they not signed up to see accounts and grades online?  If not, why not?  If you're paying, it's perfectly reasonable to have access to the results for which you're paying.

I'm not sure how other states are (I assume the same, since I think it's a federal law) but in Texas the only person that can legally access grades is the student, regardless of who is paying the bills.

EDIT: Just looked it up... it's a federal law.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects your college student’s privacy and grants them the exclusive right to view and share their education records such as grades, transcripts, disciplinary records, contact information, and class schedules. Under the law, colleges and universities may not disclose education records to anyone other than the student.

Yes and no.  The student can choose whether to give permission to the parents or not --  I have a 20 year old college student, so I know what I'm talking about.  If these parents were paying and NOT checking up on their investments, they were idiots. 

[MrsPete]

Here's a story I heard from a friend. I'm not trying to make a point here; it's just a funny story.

Kid moves away for college and parents pay for everything. Kid drops out and doesn't tell parents. Parents keep sending money because they don't know. Kid uses the money to party. I think the parents found out after about a year.

That story is full of holes!  Those parents deserved to have their money wasted!

- They couldn't have been receiving bills from the college, so they must've been giving the kid money directly and trusting him to pay the bill himself.
- Did they never ask to see any grades?  Were they not signed up to see accounts and grades online?  If not, why not?  If you're paying, it's perfectly reasonable to have access to the results for which you're paying.
- Did they never visit?  Never realize the kid didn't have any stories to tell about difficult professors or projects done well? 

No sympathy for that set of parents.

Since it is full of holes, why are you concluding it is the parents' fault? I introduced it by saying it's just a funny story and I'm not making a point. Don't you like funny stories? I do :)

Definitely!  But this one's a funny story about parents who brought this on themselves.  Still funny. 

[MrsPete]

There were definitely a lot unforeseen expenses I had once I graduated and started a job.

As a student, I never had to budget for proper attire, dry cleaning, going out after work (in Japan, it's practically a cultural requirement to not bail) and for any food I would end up buying out because I didn't have time to go home and make dinner.

Between the basic necessities that my parents provided and the cash I made from working during my school years, I actually had more per month than I did in my job lifestyle. The salary sounded good but there were extra things I hadn't considered and taxes that get taken out.

Suddenly it was a wake up call that I wasn't going to have any money to save at the end of the month so I had to tighten up my daily budget to be more strict than when I was a student. I thought gettin a full time job would mean having the ability to move to a nicer non-student-like apartment but that will have to be put on hold.

Aim for a high salary when you get out of college! Think of all the unforeseen expenses you currently don't have.

I got a higher paying job luckily but I think that any new worker in a base salary in Japan lives with their family and doesn't have to pay rent---800bucks saving right there.

Good luck!

I understand what you're saying:  I was MORE BROKE in my first two years out of college than I had been during my education! 

In college I had some financial aid, and I had a job that provided me with a place to live.  I could get away with wearing the same old sweat pants all the time.  I didn't have much in the way of transportation expenses.  I sure wasn't living high on the hog, but I had figured out "how to make it in college".  Then I graduated . . . and my salary was low, and I was faced with a different set of challenges.  I can't imagine how I would've made it if I'd had debt.