Thing is, government offered education grants and work-study programs at that time. Now, I see the new grads have already borrowed tons of money to get through school, what’a few more bucks to spend on a well-deserved vacation? I think it’s a sign of the times. My husband and I cut up our credit cards that first year we were married more than 30 yrs ago–why spend money we didn’t have, and bought our first reliable car at a time when car manufacturers were pushing for looks rather than substance, so we bought our Toyota cheap. We put as much money down (against all the public advice) as we could possible afford on a mortgage and saved to pay it off 5 years early. We put as much effort into free academic programs as we could for our kids, and stayed home to care for them at that peak earning period, but the point is not to brag. It’s to provide further understanding about the ‘plight’ of the recently graduating students, in that how can they possibly know the value of money when it’s all coming in the form of bank loans and and new grad incentives. I just think that new grads don’t know the score finance-wise until they’ve been out on the job a few years.

You don’t have the same class of debt or you don’t have the same goods for a lesser level of debt?

Quit whining about the choices you made that created the circumstances by which you live. No child wishes to know that his parents begrudged the choices they made.

I live WAY BELOW my means. I’ve lived in an apartment for all of my professional life. My current car I bought brand-new—in 2000! It is paid in full, and I still happily drive all 72,000 miles of it; it’s a great, reliable sedan that gets 27 MPG, and last year I rewarded it with four new tires. I use my credit card as a convenience device only, paying it off in full each month. My FICO score would make a great SAT score. I’m in heaven when I have a Philly steak sandwich at the local diner.

To add to Dave Ramsey’s wisdom, I say, there is nothing more luxurious than peace of mind.

Where I am in pharmacy school (a private school), lots of my classmates come from money. A lot of us, however, do not. I come from a lower-middle class background and I guarantee I’ll appreciate my salary when I graduate. I’ll go from basically making nothing to overnight making an unbelievable salary. I think a lot of professionals, not just pharmacists, lack the real-world perspective that teaches you the value of a dollar. I know I hope that I don’t ever lose that perspective. I also know I’m not looking forward to the well-into-the-six figure student loan bills I’ll be facing once I graduate. Are pharmacists’ salaries warranted? Yes. Should we appreciate them? Yes.

January seems to be the month for compounds at my pharmacy. I’ve done six so far this month, 4 of them last week. (This is at a store that *maybe* does 2 a month).