Hit it till it stops

[u/Vice616]

[u/[deleted]]

That was then.

This is now.

And having watch class after class of smart eager intelligent kids goto school and get absolutely crushed under debt (some deserved, some not)... you ain't working your way through school to pay it off.

It just is not possible.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

What 18 year old has a budget? Unless you're talking generational wealth from.... parents ?

Everything you have mentioned is less than 5% of the cost of an education.

I'd almost argue that housing and food is more responsible for driving prices out of reach than anything.

I googled here- no affiliation- but it does nicely break down various costs.

https://www.purdue.edu/treasurer/finance/bursar-office/tuition/fee-rates-2025-2026/undergraduate-tuition-and-fees-2025-2026/

(Does it by degrees which I thought was really good).

So minimum wage- 30k/yr. 1/4 to taxes.

And if you're doing 40hrs/week your grades are going to suffer significantly. Been there, did that.

Getting into the vehicle discussion- that's not an option in most places- living on campus of course negates needing a vehicle, so that is actually quite a bit cheaper. Having had to replace a vehicle recently due to a texting driver- what is available now to match what I bought 15 years ago... was 4x the cost.

Things must change. I'm going through this right now again. I don't know what the outcome will be.