Some lessons you can only learn by experience - painful, agonizing experience.

During orientation week I laughed during the financial aid briefing at the jokes about eating ramen noodles.  I eat ramen, true, but because I like it - not because that’s all I can afford.  I returned about 1k of financial aid - I didn’t want to be in debt any more than necessary.  I was carefree.  This week, not so much.

 About a year ago, my wife and I came into 20k.  We’re savers too and we increased our savings to about 25k total.  Of course I was feeling secure - who wouldn’t with that kind of money sitting in the bank?  I was a little over confident though. 

We moved to Vermont from Alaska.  We shipped some stuff, rented a uhaul trailer for the rest, and sold one car, keeping my Jeep to pull the Uhaul.  The only things new we bought were food, a mattress, and a car for $5500.  I guess I thought that was my best option…but now we’re down to under 2k.  Which for us is heartbreaking, despite the fact that its only money.  We ask ourselves how we spent 23k of our savings in only 6 months.  What were we thinking?

I’ve been working this whole year except for the past 2 months - our move and these first weeks of school, so its not like we’ve lived on our savings that long…

I’d have to say that when we return to Alaska that we’ll be a lot more cautious in what we bring and what we toss.  I’m thinking that no matter how I play it out in my head, I still see myself spending a significant amount of money just to get here. 

This past week I haven’t put 100% into my law school experience.  I don’t find law school that difficult.  I wanted to try a week without briefing any of the cases I was assigned to read.  Honestly, I was tired of killing myself night after night.  I’m a chronic procrastinator - If I wait until the last minute, I immediately get the gratification that comes from completing a paper or an exam. 

 Usually, I don’t really do anything productive with that time I got from my procrastination.  But lately, I’ve had to spent time repairing our cars (another note to self - long trips are hell on old cars and new cars are full of problems).

In any case, its now 3 weeks into the first semester and I’ve spent 23k of my own and about 20k in student loans as well.  I’m thinking that this week, I’ll be putting a little more into my work.  I promise to let you know how I do, since now you know I slack off and had a moment where I said that “I don’t find law school that difficult.”

 I’m sure I’ll end up in purgatory for that remark.

-el