Most lucrative college degrees

[John Dibble]

I'm currently - temporarly - broke, having spent all my money in my usual careless but enjoyable way over the winter, but at least I have a free house, utilites, car, and gas, and a few hundred a week from the parents.  I quite honestly don't see how my friends survive.

By not being careless with their money, duh. When you actually earn your own money, you tend to spend it differently.

[John Dibble]

By not being careless with their money, duh. When you actually earn your own money, you tend to spend it differently.

True, but current living expenses combined with student loan/credit card debt can make even the most frugal person quite broke.

I was merely pointing out to opebo that his way of spending his money is typical of that of someone who's given a free ride - he's not careful with his money because he didn't put any effort into attaining it, so he spends it in a fundamentally different way than someone who earns their keep. So long as he doesn't have to do much for it, he won't value it. You see this even in children and teenagers. Those who get an allowance for doing chores are more likely to save a little extra than those who simply get an allowance for nothing. Opebo has no clue how his supposed friends survive because he has no idea how to spend money wisely - he's never had a reason to, and likely never will.

Now, on the topic you brought up, student loans are one thing - some people actually need to take those. Credit card debt however is much more avoidable. College students simply shouldn't get credict cards as too often they treat them like a magic money tree(kind of the same problem described above), resulting in them not living frugally with the end result of them being broke when it's too late to figure out they need to be frugal. At my college we have a 1 hour a week class for freshmen that's about getting used to college life and what decisions you'll have to make, and they advise against getting a credit card or at least ensuring you pay it off every month. They also advise trying to get student loans paid up ASAP once you've graduated. Kids need to be taught to be responsible with their money from the get go, not after making terrible mistakes that result in large amounts of debt. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case.

[John Dibble]

I'm currently - temporarly - broke, having spent all my money in my usual careless but enjoyable way over the winter, but at least I have a free house, utilites, car, and gas, and a few hundred a week from the parents.  I quite honestly don't see how my friends survive.

By not being careless with their money, duh. When you actually earn your own money, you tend to spend it differently.

No, no!  My point had nothing to do with the money I spent overseas, but with the costs of living here.  I would say that to replace the free house, car, gas, utilities, allowance, etc.  I get from the family, plus save a little to escape the Bad Place, I'd have to get a job that payed $1,000/week! 

Most people of my aquaintance are lucky if they make half that.

I repeat, they spend their money more carefully than you do - they would probably be more careful over there, and I can pretty much gaurantee you that they do so here.

[John Dibble]

I'm currently - temporarly - broke, having spent all my money in my usual careless but enjoyable way over the winter, but at least I have a free house, utilites, car, and gas, and a few hundred a week from the parents.  I quite honestly don't see how my friends survive.

By not being careless with their money, duh. When you actually earn your own money, you tend to spend it differently.

No, no!  My point had nothing to do with the money I spent overseas, but with the costs of living here.  I would say that to replace the free house, car, gas, utilities, allowance, etc.  I get from the family, plus save a little to escape the Bad Place, I'd have to get a job that payed $1,000/week! 

Most people of my aquaintance are lucky if they make half that.

I repeat, they spend their money more carefully than you do - they would probably be more careful over there, and I can pretty much gaurantee you that they do so here.

Yes, for example one of them keeps her thermostat set at 60 degrees in February!  I'm not saying they aren't surviving, I'm just saying their lives are so miserable I'm not surprised at all that they are suicidal.

They're not suicidal because they're made of tougher stuff than you - your parents made you a weak piece of fluff that can't take the harsh realities of the world. Blame them for raising you to be a coward.

[John Dibble]

No, Dibble, as usual you aren't bothering to read.  My friends are mostly suicidal, to varying degrees. 

Ah, I see - still, if they're friends with someone like you, they must have a mental illness.

I seriously doubt that their suicidal tendencies revolve around their financial situation. Studies on happiness show that income does not affect happiness to any large degree. Sure, when someone gets a raise or loses their job they might gain a temporary boost or drop in their happiness level, but in general it's just that - temporary. Perceived happiness normalizes shortly thereafter. The exception of course is when one is completely unable to meet their most basic needs, ie food, clothing and shelter, such as people in a country like North Korea where massive food shortages are common - I would assume your friends don't have it nearly that bad.

Humans are rather adaptable creatures. Someone who loses their arms and legs in an accident usually goes through a severe bout of depression, which is expected given such a dramatic negative change, but within a years time many quadriplegics report the same mix of moods as your average able-bodied person. So, your friends probably have some deeper problem than their income that is causing their suicidal moods.

You might also be interested to know about the study linked here, which talks about sex and happiness:
http://lair.xent.com/pipermail/fork/Week-of-Mon-20040705/030848.html

Seems men who pay for prostitutes report lower levels of happiness.

As they say, money can't buy you happiness.

[John Dibble]

I seriously doubt that their suicidal tendencies revolve around their financial situation.

No, their financial situations are the source of their suicidal tendencies.  According to them.  Certainly I never feel unhappy about anthing myself other than insufficient funds.  What else could their possibly be to be unhappy about?  Well other than the religious making it impossible to buy what you want even if you have the money.

I know people who sound to be in similar situations to the ones you describe who are happy and not at all suicidal. Your friends have other problems.

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Are they starving? Are they emaciated? Do they have not have enough clothing to protect them from the elements when they go outside? Do they not have a roof over their heads?

Do they look like any of these people?
http://visualhistory.freewebpages.org/_webimages/Appalchia%20Poverty.jpg
http://www.raisingkaine.com/photos/poverty.jpg
http://www.prisonpotpourri.com/PICTURES/poverty.jpg
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_81/aids3.gif
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Images/101305-YF0Y7682.JPG
http://images.wildmadagascar.org/pictures/ankavandra/akavandra_kids_07.JPG
http://chaplainchat.blogware.com/_photos/Global%20Village%20005.sized.jpg
http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/pics/4319.jpg

No? Then STFU - you don't have a realistic view of what poverty is.

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Sounds like more idiotic propaganda.  I find I'm giddy with happiness when I can hire prostitutes.[/quote]

If you're going to ignore scientific studies when it suits you then please go join the Religious Party. They study showed that was found in general, not in every case - there's always exceptions with psychology, which is why a generous sample size is needed.

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In fact it can, Dibble.  As usual you are misinformed by ridiculous studies which analyze the reactions of typical retarded/brainwashed (i.e. religious) americans to stimuli.  For those of us who are not afflicted by the nonsensical desires of the typical bourgeois, the classic libertine lifestyle is a source of great enjoyment.
[/quote]

No, it can't. Secular science has shown that it doesn't, that happiness is the result of other things. You just don't accept science when it doesn't fit into your belief scheme, so as I said go join the Religious Party or STFU.

[John Dibble]

I know people who sound to be in similar situations to the ones you describe who are happy and not at all suicidal. Your friends have other problems.

So you are saying it is impossible to mind poverty?  One cannot possibly be bothered by it, get tired of it, etc?  Interesting.

No, that's not what I said. My experience shows me that most people can be happy and not at all suicidal in such situations. Your friends' problems go deeper than their mere financial troubles - their situation(which based on your description, while not preferable, isn't horrible IMHO) is possibly a trigger for those deeper problems to arise, but I doubt the problems would simply go away if they got a bigger paycheck.

Most people who commit suicide have some sort of mental or emotional disorder, such as clinical depression or bi-polar disorder. Chemical imbalances and whatnot. Roughly 90% of all people who commit suicide have one or more psychiatric disorders. People with healthy brain chemistry do not normally think about suicide, even in bad circumstances.

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No, my point is that you have no clue what real poverty is. Your friends aren't in poverty, nor are they poor. Do they have to watch how they spend their money? Sure, but most people do. That doesn't mean those people are in poverty though. Your friends have sufficient food, clothing, and shelter - that can't be considered poverty. When they're homeless and starving, we'll talk poverty.

And if they're in such dire need, as the philanthropist you are you should go ahead and redistribute some of your money. Either that or you could stop acting like you give a damn.

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Of course you would, but when I tell you about my experience it's invalid. Learn some consistency - experience is or isn't important, so which is it?

You might be an exception. For most people money isn't what brings happiness - science shows it to be true. Go join the religious party if you want to reject science.