notice I qualified it with "eventually replace some of it", not all of it.
I would bet the farm that a guy with his income will repurchase something similar to something he sold off at some point. There's no way to act in a panic and not do something you regret later, and now that he has more cashflow and a great income, he'll start picking a few of the more important items up.

 

Well I can only speak for myself, but I don't regret my choices regarding the way I handled it.

$1300/mo in just entertainment expenditures is f@#king retarded in my book, but it's not my money. If I spend a 1/4 of that I'm kicking myself.

 

I think that all depends on your earning potential and if you can hit the same salary points with a few years working exp. MBA is just more valuable when you have some real world working experience imo to take into the courses, and its a great way to get to the next level when you start to plateau in a career, which could take you farther in the long run.

 

yeah, of course. If you inherently have low potential, an MBA isn't going to change that, either.
And it isn't an exact science - nobody really knows their earning potential in the long run, or even what their first job out of business school will pay, or even exactly what the balance of the loans and the interest rate will be.
That said, before I went to business school, i had good estimates of all of those items... and a high level of comfort that it was a good investment. As i recall, I needed to make something like $12k a year more after school to cover the loan payments...which was a fraction of my expected raise, which made me feel pretty good at the time.
The two things that REALLY make it hard to fully understand is how an MBA raises your ceiling of salary potential, and what kind of earnings you could have if you self-employed or started your own business. It's a lot easier to figure out if you plan on working for the man your whole career.

 

Very true statement.

 

Even if you are self employed, your education does matter. Well education less so, more your networking & "prestige" in your MBA. Also depending on where you do business, if you don't have a higher degree (MS or MBA), you're automatically looked down upon.

That being said, most people don't understand it's better to not get your MBA than go to a shitty paper mil school. It shocks me when i hear some of my peers who are "surprised" when they weren't able to switch careers after graduating from crappy non ranked B schools.

 

 

I wouldn't say he has "issues," just that paying his loans off was his #1 priority, and I applaud that. I happen to think people are far too risk tolerant (or perhaps more accurately put, unaware of the risk) these days. Close to 6 figure loans for even undergrad is very common, and many don't even bat an eye at it, and call it "good debt." Bullshit.

Life is all about tradeoffs and decisions we make, and playing the "what if" game is pointless. All the negatives you list are questionable at best (missed a year dating? Who knows, maybe he doesn't want to get married even?). It's a bit extreme, coming from someone who's very comfortable with debt and leverage, but much less extreme for those that are more risk averse.

 

I applaud the guy. Nothing wrong with getting it over with quick. Both of my careers has have had their ups and downs over the last decade. Those ups and downs have cost me a few hundred grand. I think about that some times and imagine using that money to pay my house off, as it would be enough.

I can also tell you that nothing feels as good as paying off a credit card, especially one that was not racked up buying things, but was used for survival. The less debt that I have, the better I feel. With 0 debt (no mortgage, no car payment, no credit cards, school loans) I'd feel like king of the world.

 

At least he knows and understands his priorities in life. I'm not rolling in money, but I'm comfortable and have a social life. This guy decided otherwise. He preferred the financial peace that I may never fully know by means of sacrificing many things that would matter a lot to me. I don't mean that in a materialistic way, but there are great joys which come from having things which can bring people together. For example(although not a very good one), he sold his bicycle. That means if a friend asks him to go on a bike ride, he can't.

But looking at what is undeniably the most important thing of all, he kept his ap1