The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: surfhb on November 06, 2014, 03:36:09 AM
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Here's a doozy of a thread from the Boglehead site. Hand slapping forehead LOL
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=150136
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Oh dear...that guy has it rough, but he's not even willing to admit it. Why ask for advice if all you're going to do is complain about your wife's spending and say that you can't change your spending?
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I have realized that a 5 year car loan is not wise for buying used cars
he had to "do the math" to figure that out?!!?!??!
and who doesn't plan on some slush for unexpected maintenance/repairs when buying a house? just, what the fuck?
at least people in the comments are giving him some gentle facepunches.
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The heart of their issues is summed up by one line: "I guess what I am asking for, is how do you find the balance between paying off debt and living life?"
Once someone can de-couple happiness from spending, it gets easier.
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"I am upset, because I have invested wisely since I have learned how to save and invest, but it seems like life just keeps on kicking me to the nuts these past two years"
wtf, he owe almost 400 grants, it's not exactly what I call saving and investing wisely!
Instead of loosing his tome on Bogleheads forum, he should spent some time reading MMM then come arround here and get some real deserved facepunches !
Life and badluck are the problem, Toyota Matrix 2009 is not a reliable car etc.
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The heart of their issues is summed up by one line: "I guess what I am asking for, is how do you find the balance between paying off debt and living life?"
Once someone can de-couple happiness from spending, it gets easier.
yeah, or similarly the part where he says, "it's hard when you have a wife who's really into friends and family"... wait, really? because friends and family actually do not cost money and, I would think, would make it EASIER to feel happy and fulfilled without spending a ton (as we all well know).
very sad, I hope he sees the light!
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The center of this guy's problems is his refusal to accept responsibility for anything. I see a LOT of blame going around, but nothing on him.
Ex-wife racked up a lot of debt (check)
cheated by an ex-girlfriend (check)
guy who is responsible for calculating taxes messed up (check)
Appliances failed (check)
camshaft issues, which Toyota refuses to acknowledge (check)
$25,000 in personal debt ($6k left from my ex-wife's $12k that she left for me, plus the loan on the car, I got stuck with both) (check - note how nothing he lists here is "his fault"?)
We had a nice emergency fund, but flooding of the basement and plumbing issues ate that up fast (check)
I am trying to be optimistic, but a bout of bad luck always seems to be just waiting to hit us (check)
So what DOES he have to say about himself?
I have invested wisely (check)
This whole post just drips with "me vs. the world" whereas OP is perfect, and the world is screwing him over. I have found, the best financial improvements in my life come at the expense of my ego. I see the problems in my finances, and for the most part, I accept them as MY problems. If you can't take ownership over your own life, what use is buying a car or a house? You shouldn't own things if you can't first own your mistakes as well as your triumphs.
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MrBuckBeard, pretty good resume. That's exactly what this guy should aknowledge first. If you don't control your mind/life, than other will. He may be right (everyone is against him) but he should include himself in that complot
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Life and badluck are the problem, Toyota Matrix 2009 is not a reliable car etc.
Slight thread-jack here....is the 2009 Matrix worse than others? I have an 05 and it's been really good to me.
Back on topic - do cars really have expensive repairs after 4 years? We've had to do some work on our car, but nothing atrociously expensive.
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A dozen simple suggestions were thrown at him and he shot down every single one of them, or pre-passed the blame to his wife that it'll never wash. At the same time he kinda admits his hair is on fire he proclaims he'd buy an $80k car for "reliability" in a heart beat if he had the money. He won't get a loan for a used car, but he insists on leasing a brand new one. It's hilarious that he's trying to prove to a frugal-minded community that it's dangerous to own a car with more than 100k miles and 35k miles is his magic threshold.
Some of the face punches were gentle, and others were thrown without pity. When he provides gems like this he has it coming:
My wife I know, will not give up cable, Starbucks, and attending social functions such as weddings for friends, especially family, and parties where she feels obligated to attend to...Christmas coming we have another big expense. We budgeted $600 this year and limit it to cash only, no borrowing - we'll see how my wife handles that
Holy shit! He's $250k in debt (before mortgage) with a baby on the way and his primary concern is how to maintain his overspending lifestyle.
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Holy shit! He's $250k in debt (before mortgage) with a baby on the way and his primary concern is how to maintain his overspending lifestyle.
Yeah, but again, it's not HIS overspending lifestyle. Nope. It's the wife's need to get Starbucks. Which follows the trend of not accepting responsibility.
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Life and badluck are the problem, Toyota Matrix 2009 is not a reliable car etc.
Slight thread-jack here....is the 2009 Matrix worse than others? I have an 05 and it's been really good to me.
Back on topic - do cars really have expensive repairs after 4 years? We've had to do some work on our car, but nothing atrociously expensive.
Depends on how well they are taken care of. I had a car for 10 years and the most expensive repair I had was struts at maybe $1200. But if you don't keep up on maintenance you can end up with not only more expensive repairs but a laundry list of minor repairs that really add up once you get around to doing them. A friend spent $4-5k on his car last year for a pile of normal minor repairs that had been put off for a couple of years
Most cars repairs are corellated use (miles per year and wich kind of miles). I drive a 2006 Civic with 150k miles on it and my maintenance/repairs are about 2 cents/mile. Driving 5k a year, it sums to 100$ on average. If I crash that car or it get stolen, I would replace it with something similar, maybe a Fit
I would agree a RelianK 1987 with 350k miles may be not very reliable XD
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Life and badluck are the problem, Toyota Matrix 2009 is not a reliable car etc.
Slight thread-jack here....is the 2009 Matrix worse than others? I have an 05 and it's been really good to me.
Back on topic - do cars really have expensive repairs after 4 years? We've had to do some work on our car, but nothing atrociously expensive.
Depends on how well they are taken care of. I had a car for 10 years and the most expensive repair I had was struts at maybe $1200. But if you don't keep up on maintenance you can end up with not only more expensive repairs but a laundry list of minor repairs that really add up once you get around to doing them. A friend spent $4-5k on his car last year for a pile of normal minor repairs that had been put off for a couple of years
Our family car is a 2003 Ford Focus with 115,000 miles on it (bought in 2005). We've spent maybe $2500 in unforeseen repairs in that time (two windshields, wheel damage from ice, and tensioner and belts). The tensioner and related parts came out to a $1000 repair bill and one of my coworkers asked about replacing the car. I laid out that not only is this repair rare, it was mostly budgeted for, and it's still drastically cheaper than a car payment. The math still beats out a similar used car until it starts falling apart.
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This guy will probably be ending his 2nd marriage before he makes a dent in his debt. Poor sap.
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This guy will probably be ending his 2nd marriage before he makes a dent in his debt. Poor sap.
Then she'll be on the list of bad things. Ex #2 wouldn't stop buying Starbucks. Couldn't pay off debt, she piled on more. Now she's taking me to the cleaners for way too much child support. My lawyer messed up the response and now I'm on the hook for twice as much as I should be.
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Life and badluck are the problem, Toyota Matrix 2009 is not a reliable car etc.
Slight thread-jack here....is the 2009 Matrix worse than others? I have an 05 and it's been really good to me.
Back on topic - do cars really have expensive repairs after 4 years? We've had to do some work on our car, but nothing atrociously expensive.
Depends on how well they are taken care of. I had a car for 10 years and the most expensive repair I had was struts at maybe $1200. But if you don't keep up on maintenance you can end up with not only more expensive repairs but a laundry list of minor repairs that really add up once you get around to doing them. A friend spent $4-5k on his car last year for a pile of normal minor repairs that had been put off for a couple of years
Yeah, we had to do struts, and there was an exhaust issue that the dealership quotes us $1600, but our local garage came up with a much better solution at $700 (rather than replacing an entire ssytem, they just replaced a bad pipe within the system).
Still so much less than a car payment.
My car has about 260 000 km on it. It's high, but we do a very non-mustachian amount of driving.
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Life and badluck are the problem, Toyota Matrix 2009 is not a reliable car etc.
Slight thread-jack here....is the 2009 Matrix worse than others? I have an 05 and it's been really good to me.
Back on topic - do cars really have expensive repairs after 4 years? We've had to do some work on our car, but nothing atrociously expensive.
No. His was under warranty. He just forgot.
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This guy will probably be ending his 2nd marriage before he makes a dent in his debt. Poor sap.
Then she'll be on the list of bad things. Ex #2 wouldn't stop buying Starbucks. Couldn't pay off debt, she piled on more. Now she's taking me to the cleaners for way too much child support. My lawyer messed up the response and now I'm on the hook for twice as much as I should be.
more than a probability !
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"I don't charge anything, if I can help it, for social life stuff. Any debt incurred would have to be either car repairs, healthcare, or house repairs. My wife and I try to refrain from using credit cards for non-essentials."
Excellent choice. This frees up all of his net monthly income for fun stuff. The things he really needs can go to hell, charge that shit, it's not what you really wanted anyway.
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I get a write off by owning my home, so renting is out of the question.
ok then
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That thread just took an hour of my life! I don't think that guy can possibly be for real. He started the whole thing based on should he lease a car because his 09 Matrix was such a lemon and it was costing him loads, but he 'forgot' he still had 30000 miles of platinum warranty on it??
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The sad thing, I know someone EXACTLY like him.
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Wait isn't this really all Obama's fault? That's what happens when you elect an Orange man to President.
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They could give a try with 9,9%
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Wow!
I feel sorry for him simply because he's had some setbacks in the last couple years. However, his mindset needs to change 180 degrees. It's time to take responsibility and control of his financial life. Time to stop being a passenger and get behind the wheel.
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It gets better, he goes into more detail http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=150319
CHeck out his list of sacred cows, it would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad, who am I kidding it's still hilarious.
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someone brought up an awesome point:
As a teacher, what subjects does she teach at school? I hope it is not Math!!!
With a 120K student loans and being a teacher(lower share of 116K salary of you two), does she have any idea if she is able to bring a NET Income after her loan payments, her car & gas usage(as per you, not work related but personal driving) and her cable and other Wants?? Forget about contributing to utilities or food, just her expenses and loan payments should wipe out her income.
Maybe just showing her those on an excel sheet should open her mindset.
seeing something like that in my case would humble me alot.
the wife, who has a so many sacred cows she might as well have a sacred farm, is actually a net loss as an asset herself
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1. The house (both of us) $1,580/month
2. Cable (wife) $75/month
3. Wife's smartphone plan (for herself) - I know I can get us a better deal with equal coverage for $75, but she won't give up her provider :oops: $64/month
4. Netflix (both of us) $10/month
That's his list of "absolute" sacred cows. Seriously? So if he's ever faced with being homeless, he still can't get rid of his wife's smartphone. Man we are in a strange world. My only absolute sacred cow is roof and food. Not that I'd ever be in a position to just have those two things, but if I were, I wouldn't go about paying for a smart phone so I could stream my Netflix to it. He really needs to know what the word "luxury" means.
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He calls for trolls in his second thread. He must be a troll himself. I mean, he joined Bogleheads forum in 2007 and still dont get it ? Troll or complete idiot !
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He says his income is $115k, if you exclude his second job. After he pays all his bills, he has $600 left over. That's with, what I think appear to be, the minimum or "standard" amount that he tosses at his debts each month.
$600.
I know you shouldn't compare yourself to others, but I'm going to anyway. I make $55k, not including my side job (which probably nets less than what his does). I have $1200 left over in a month, and I'm working to get more.
I'm just struck by the idea that he makes twice what I make, and only have half the savings to show for it.
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This is hilarious. Sad, but hilarious. I love this response to his post:
"You ask for advice, and then you stick with your unnecessarily expensive car prejudices. I have a car twenty years old and an even older one, and they do not cost me big bucks in repairs.
The maintenance of the house and other issues that seem to you like thunderbolts from the sky are (1) expected when you own a house, and (2) probably could have been solved more cheaply.
You say you spend little on your social life, but the reality is your ex-wife took you to the cleaners, it's not clear what the girl friend did, and you now have a wife who is a spendthrift. When the poster up above mentioned your social life costing you money, that, I believe, is what he meant.
What you most need is to think rationally and frugally about your situation. You are not doing that now.
p.s. Get rid of the cable. Have a talk with your wife about spending.
Update: I see people above have already said this."
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Just wait. Between the two threads, there have been at least 5 or 6 recommendations to these forums and MMM's blog. :-)
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OMG. I'm still on page 1 of the first thread, but my head's already exploded.
They have student loan of 200K, and they bought a house. <boom>
He is an "avid saver." Savings: $100 per month. <boom> (OK, that's not counting debt payments.)
There's a baby on the way. <boom>
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OMG. I'm still on page 1 of the first thread, but my head's already exploded.
They have student loan of 200K, and they bought a house. <boom>
He is an "avid saver." Savings: $100 per month. <boom> (OK, that's not counting debt payments.)
There's a baby on the way. <boom>
I can't find the post, but I thought he said he was 40. And he's cracking on about how he has good retirement savings - more than most of his peers.
$35k. ???
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What a ridiculous situation -- and he blames it all on other people and poor luck. Idiot. He can't see that he's the one who borrowed all that money, demands things he considers "necessities" but are actually luxuries, and isn't willing to make the tough choices that could get him out of financial trouble. Idiot.
In spite of having been prodigious savers all our adult lives, my husband and I have "been done wrong" by a mortgage lender, and we have had some "rough patches" in which multiple expensive things hit us all at once -- leaking roof, daughter broke her arm /we had high deductible insurance, washing machine died. Yeah, we've had periods of time in which we felt we were just hemoraging money. Those times don't last. Thing is, we NEVER thought we could get through those times with borrowing and blame!
Instead, he's trying to set limits on what's acceptable debt -- as if 10% interest is acceptable!
I don't want to wish anything bad on this guy, but I'm 100% certain he's heading for a second divorce and even worse financial issues. He's choosing to close his eyes to the truth, so he's doomed to repeat his mistakes over and over.
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Just wait. Between the two threads, there have been at least 5 or 6 recommendations to these forums and MMM's blog. :-)
Including a link to this thread.
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Just wait. Between the two threads, there have been at least 5 or 6 recommendations to these forums and MMM's blog. :-)
Including a link to this thread.
Yeah, I saw that too! Funny.
I stand by my prediction that in 2 years he'll be divorced again (her fault) and whinging about how she took his leased car and he had to lease another one. Despite the fact that he thinks I'm a troll. :)
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In spite of having been prodigious savers all our adult lives, my husband and I have "been done wrong" by a mortgage lender, and we have had some "rough patches" in which multiple expensive things hit us all at once -- leaking roof, daughter broke her arm /we had high deductible insurance, washing machine died. Yeah, we've had periods of time in which we felt we were just hemoraging money. Those times don't last. Thing is, we NEVER thought we could get through those times with borrowing and blame!
If you aren't interested in the early FIRE date that a lot of us are, you can actually mess up quit a bit in your financial life and come out ok. My father has been un or underemployed most of my life (I'm 26) and is now a UPS driver after being an executive in a Fortune 500 firm a decade ago. They had to buy medical insurance for all of us for years. My parents paid for private education for their children when the public schools were untenable, and went into considerable debt to do so. They have almost no equity in their house. My dad went through a divorce that halved his net worth when he was in his mid-thirties and didn't start saving for retirement until after then.
And yet, and 67 and 55:
1. They own a successful, popular, 25 year old small business that has experienced years of 10%+ annual profit growth. I think it earns them about $70,000/annum right now and my mother LOVES that store.
2. When my dad claims social security in 3 years, it will be around $40,000/annum.
3. He has another $8,000/annum in pensions that are being deferred until he retires at 70.
4. Last time he bothered to open his IRA statements (my dad is a Boglehead from way back), he had $1.2 million in there or something.
5. Eventually my mother will be able to collect SS, and since she's significantly younger, she may well draw my father's very large social security check for long after he's dead.
This despite a couple DECADES long streak of poor luck and some really unmustachian decisions. They could retire tomorrow, but I think they are waiting for my brother to get a job in NYC, my dad to turn 70, and us to get settled in a home we own. Then they will sell the store and buy an apartment in Queens to be near their kids.
My husband and I are young (26 and 29) and we could almost enjoy a mustachian retirement starting at a "normal" retirement age without saving another dime, just because we were smart and saved hard for a few years after graduation, provided we don't do anything flagrantly stupid in the next 40 years.
Are you... latin?
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If you aren't interested in the early FIRE date that a lot of us are, you can actually mess up quit a bit in your financial life and come out ok.
I don't know . . . some people tend to screw up, drift from place to place, make this and that mistake, and they still have "enough". But others are never able to recover from a couple big mistakes. I suppose it depends upon the salary these individuals command and just how big the mistakes are.
Also, I fear it's becoming harder to recover from financial mistakes. That is, I worry more about my children than about myself. I think their generation has more financial pitfalls, and if they don't "do right" early in their lives, I think it's getting harder to "catch up".
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Out of curiosity, mrspete, what pitfalls do you think are growing?
I'm 24, and things seem pretty easy. Granted, no kids and no house and nobody to answer to but myself, which helps. Earn dollars, save many of them, invest, forget, et voila much later when I want them if I want them.
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Borrowing is to easy today.
Big lenders just don't care on individuals. They run some probability charts and throw money to anyone if odds are good. The problem is when borrowers think they can affort because someone agree to put $$$ in their hands...
In the old days, when credit was almost inexistant, there was people doing good and other bad but leverage magnified every move you make.
This afternoon, I can pull almost 200K to burn on ANYTHING without question from anyone. And then...
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This afternoon, I can pull almost 200K to burn on ANYTHING without question from anyone. And then...
HOW??
Man, if I could do that at less than 15% or so I might just buy up a ton of cars, or gold, or some other great investment. Maybe even just a pile of cash!
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I know, I got some amazing self control to not use my HELOC, personnal LOC and load all my credit cards (125+50+15=200) and why not, sell my 500k investments and throw a party. I'm probably a kind of Buddha...
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I know, I got some amazing self control to not use my HELOC, personnal LOC and load all my credit cards (125+50+15=200) and why not, sell my 500k investments and throw a party. I'm probably a kind of Buddha...
Is this actually hard for you, though? I have no desire to spend the 1-year net salary I have sitting in checking at the moment. I've actually been spending a lot of money recently, having purchased a new home, but my savings rate is still >50%. I couldn't imagine what I'd want to spend a year of my life to obtain.
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Sorry, I was answering second level with third level humor
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Sorry, I was answering second level with third level humor
My humor circuits were malfunctioning. Sometimes I disable them for work, but forget to turn them back on.
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This afternoon, I can pull almost 200K to burn on ANYTHING without question from anyone. And then...
HOW??
Man, if I could do that at less than 15% or so I might just buy up a ton of cars, or gold, or some other great investment. Maybe even just a pile of cash!
It would be pretty easy... Max out half a dozen credit card (I have at least a 12k and 18k card... Maybe go out and buy 60k var, then grab heloc for a full home remodel.
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I would agree a RelianK 1987 with 350k miles may be not very reliable XD
A Reliant K with 350k miles would be a miracle that flies in the face of physics and probability.
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You people just have no compassion. This poor guy is just a thrifty soul caught in a series of unfortunate events even lemony snicket couldn't imagine.
For example:
The law is against him:
"no lawyer in the local area likes this particular judge, because he is lazy and arrogant"
Even the pavement is against him:
"Then my Matrix tires had to be replaced thanks to pot holes in my area"
There were pot holes, people, pot holes!
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You people just have no compassion. This poor guy is just a thrifty soul caught in a series of unfortunate events even lemony snicket couldn't imagine.
For example:
The law is against him:
"no lawyer in the local area likes this particular judge, because he is lazy and arrogant"
Even the pavement is against him:
"Then my Matrix tires had to be replaced thanks to pot holes in my area"
There were pot holes, people, pot holes!
hahahaha
everyone knows that USUALLY, if you don't live in a place with POTHOLES, tires last forever! so who the fuck would plan on replacing them?!?! these costs, comin' outta nowhere, I tell ya! just like the damn potholes!
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You people just have no compassion. This poor guy is just a thrifty soul caught in a series of unfortunate events even lemony snicket couldn't imagine.
For example:
The law is against him:
"no lawyer in the local area likes this particular judge, because he is lazy and arrogant"
Even the pavement is against him:
"Then my Matrix tires had to be replaced thanks to pot holes in my area"
There were pot holes, people, pot holes!
hahahaha
everyone knows that USUALLY, if you don't live in a place with POTHOLES, tires last forever! so who the fuck would plan on replacing them?!?! these costs, comin' outta nowhere, I tell ya! just like the damn potholes!
haha!
Reminds me, though... one of the roads near my house is seriously degrading... when I roll up I can hear gravel moving under my tires (not sure how homeowners on that street stand it!) Anyways, will this reduce my tire lifespan to the point that I should avoid that road? Or does gravel not do much? It's a pretty long road, but there are alternatives in good condition but less direct.
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You people just have no compassion. This poor guy is just a thrifty soul caught in a series of unfortunate events even lemony snicket couldn't imagine.
For example:
The law is against him:
"no lawyer in the local area likes this particular judge, because he is lazy and arrogant"
Even the pavement is against him:
"Then my Matrix tires had to be replaced thanks to pot holes in my area"
There were pot holes, people, pot holes!
Now the whole INTERNET is against him! Will the thrashing never end?!?!?!
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She is a teacher and has $120K in student loan debt? Where the hell did she go to school? I have a degree in education and it MAYBE cost a grand total of $20K. I went to cheap community colleges followed by a local state college and even took some courses online. And guess what?!?!?! I had no problem finding a job in the area making the same amount of money as she probably does (ok, well, maybe not since teachers across the country have different pay scales, but a fancy university would not have increased my pay). Sometimes a fancy edubacatin just ain't neccisery.
Also, I drive a 2006 Jeep that I paid $13,500 for (although I had a paid for trade-in so really it was $3500) with 118K miles on it and the largest repair bill I had was about $500.
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She is a teacher and has $120K in student loan debt?
My teacher friend has 6-figure student debt load. His wife has 6 figures as well. She has a bachelors in art history and works as a receptionist at a university.
Oh and they just bought a house.
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Oh and they just bought a house.
I'm torn here. On the one hand, 200k of student loan debt, I don't know that taking on anything beyond this is advisable. On the other hand, a home can be a worthwhile use of your money if you're staying put, and a mortgage isn't much different than rent in some situations. I just can't imagine having to wait to buy a home until you'd pumped 200k back into the student loan. You'd get started on home ownership way later in life if you did.
So, like I said, very torn here. And also very glad I don't have to think about that situation in my own personal life. That's a lousy lot to have handed yourself in life.
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You people just have no compassion. This poor guy is just a thrifty soul caught in a series of unfortunate events even lemony snicket couldn't imagine.
Hee-hee. I liked that.
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She is a teacher and has $120K in student loan debt? Where the hell did she go to school?
I know a couple of teachers in their early 30s who have similar SL debt loads. One went to an expensive, private SLAC and took five years to finish a BA; the other went to a big state school. Both chose majors with limited economic value (Women's Studies and English Lit, respectively). Neither planned on teaching, but 2-5 years out of undergrad they each realized that they were going to be stuck in retail/restaurants forever, so they went back to school for teaching credentials (incurring more SL debt). Once they started teaching, it soon became clear that they would need Masters' degrees (which meant even more debt).
Keep in mind that both took deferments, and both made minimum payment on their loans for years, so the huge debt balances are also due to accrued interest, not just the principal.
Neither is good with money, though the SLAC Women's Studies major, with $140K in SL debt (plus credit cards; her car is paid for) is finally coming around and making better choices. She actually has an emergency fund and a budget now, and is looking for a cheaper place to live near her school so she can walk to work. The wakeup call came when her ex-boyfriend said he wouldn't marry her until she had made significant progress toward fixing her financial habits and paying down her debts. He's since out of the picture, but the message got through. I didn't even know about MMM until a few days ago, but I've already sent her the link. :)
The one who went to a state school has about $125K in student loans, plus $12-15K in credit cards, and is still paying on a 2009 Jetta. She only makes minimum payments, lives paycheck to paycheck, has credit cards, and just assumes it's the fate of her generation to be saddled with massive SL debts and no hope of ever retiring or buying a house. She also hates teaching, so she "treats" herself to restaurants, clothes, vacations, lunch delivery, etc. And she brushes off any financial advice I give because, as a Gen-Xer who has been debt-free for over a decade now I had it easy and can't possibly understand her situation. She's very bright, but holy cow--her willful stupidity when it comes to finances never ceases to astound and dismay me.
I have a degree in education and it MAYBE cost a grand total of $20K. I went to cheap community colleges followed by a local state college and even took some courses online.
Community colleges are a bargain, and I can't believe how many kids refuse to take advantage of that (or are discouraged from doing so by their status-obsessed parents and peers). Where I live, the nearest CC costs a little less than 1/3 what the big state university costs, with smaller class sizes, and if you do well there it's not hard to transfer to the U as a junior, with all your general ed requirements and many major prereqs out of the way. When I went back to school in my early 30s to finish a BA, I took everything I could at the local CC, paid for it out of pocket, and after I transferred to a 4-year state school I took out the least amount of loans I could manage while still working so I could pay most of it out-of-pocket. I had $7K in loans by the time I was done, and paid them off in about a year.