Ever wasted money/time and regretted it?

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ldiot

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So I went to a private undergrad and ended up 25k in debt, even after paying 30k out of pocket (10k a gift, 20k of it I made while in school).

I could have just knocked out my prereqs in 2 years and applied to pharmacy school but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at that point.

I entered pharmacy school and based on my first year I figured my total student debt, including undergrad, would be ~135k. Then this week I find out that my 10k scholarship is a one-time thing and that pharmacy school is going to cost about 35k more than I expected, when you account for interest.

I also wasted about 4k in the last 2 months on stupid crap and have been regretting that for weeks now. I'll be lucky to make 4k during my summer internship so now I feel like I'm working for free because I essentially threw away 4k.

So pharmacy school is going to cost 35k more than expected and I'll probably end up ~170k in debt. I could be 2 years further along in school if I didn't get a degree in undergrad. I could have no undergraduate debt if I went to a cheaper school. And now all the work I'll do this summer is just to make up for my stupidity in spending 4k.

School is going great but I'm really frustrated in terms of money and finance. I could have a lot less debt and be further along in school had I acted differently. When looking at a student debt of ~170k it just seems hopeless. I am picking up all of the shifts I can but another $80 is nothing in terms of the debt that I will end up with.
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Tons of regrets, stupid mistakes, and bad life decisions. Turned down full rides for undergrad in lieu of fancy private school. Regrets on thousands of $$$ wasted on consumer materialism, bad friendships, bad living situations, bad class enrollments and majors/minors, and more mistakes post-undergrad. I had the same thoughts on summer jobs paying off credit card debt and feeling like I was working for free.

Is there any psychological or financial benefit to dwelling in the past and constantly beating yourself up, or does that practice simply cause more harm and anguish? I mean, I do the same thing, but it's life, and it's human, no? Look out the windshield instead of the rear view mirror. I bet if you want it badly enough, you can conquer $170k+ in student loan debt within 5 years of graduation. You can still become a self-made millionaire several times over within a decade or so. You can still buy that house, build that family, succeed in your career, and whatever life goals you dare to dream. In the end, is it not wiser to laugh about one's past mistakes than cry?
 
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ldiot said:
I also wasted about 4k in the last 2 months on stupid crap and have been regretting that for weeks now.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what does this entail exactly? How does one accidentally just drop $4k on "stupid crap"?
 
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We've all done stupid stuff with money and regretted it. One of the stupidest things I did was give an ex access to my savings account. He was paying my bills for me while I was working abroad, and I wanted him to have access in case something unexpected came up. Well, something unexpected came up, all right: dude cleaned me out. I also leased a car during residency, which was stupid, because then after residency, I had to basically pay for the darn car a second time.

The key, though, as Stroganoff is alluding to, is to learn something from your mistakes and do better moving forward rather than just self-flagellating over it. The financial hole you're in is not one that's insurmountable to dig out of, and the good news is that yeah, although $170k is a lot of money, it's not like you're buying consumer crap with it. You're investing it into a marketable degree that will allow you get get a higher paying job than you can currently get, which will allow you to pay the debt off, plus earn/save more money afterward.

I suggest that you spend some time drawing up a financial plan. Treat your finances just like you treat your career: there is a pathway to follow, with certain goals and objectives to lay out and work toward on a somewhat set schedule. I like using Excel, but any spreadsheet or online calculator can work. Use it to project out your debt, your assets, your anticipated earnings, savings, anticipated repayment schedule, everything. Don't forget to factor in the effect of interest rates on your debt. Once you have some idea of what that looks like, then you can come up with a plan for paying off your debt sooner. Also, read Dave Ramsey's book (Total Money Makeover), Tom Stanley's book (The Millionaire Next Door), and Dominguez/Robin's book (Your Money or Your Life). These three books should be required reading for every young professional starting out.

Good luck!
 
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james11 said:
Out of curiosity, what does this entail exactly? How does one accidentally just drop $4k on "stupid crap"?
Click to expand...

It's actually really easy if you have it.

To answer the concerns of the poster. Life is a marathon not a sprint, we all make mistakes and it's not how you start it's how you finish.
 
I would guess that most people have big time regrets when it comes to financial decisions. I agree with what has been said here-- no need to rehash or beat yourself up over the past. Best to learn from it and move on.

Probably the best thing you can do right now is think about your repayment strategy. Are you going to pay it off as quick as you can? Are you going to refinance? Are you going to income based repayment? One thing I regret is that I didn't have a solid plan in place before I graduated. That would have helped a lot in terms of making the best financial decision for myself/family and it would have made me feel way less stressed about my financial situation.

I also agree with @QofQuimica -- there are tons of great financial books out there that you could likely stand to benefit from. Good luck!

P.S. we have about 3 times as much student loan debt as you, if that makes you feel any better :)
 
Life is full of ups and downs. But at least you got your PharmD and you'll be making bank soon. Your debt isn't enormous. If you live like a student for 2 years after graduation you can do some serious damage to that debt. Pay loans first, live cheap, be free.
 
i went to high school with a kid that told me that they were going to attend UCLA on loans. mind you, we are in New York, so she would have to pay like out of state tuition. i search up the school tuition for UCLA, it literally said $60K for non cali residents lol. I go to a community college which is good because i am not spending an extreme amount of money for my first two undergrad years of college.
 
Shoot....guess how much retirement money I have saved up from my two deployments where I earned 60K each year tax free? I'll give you one guess.
 
I regretted going to a stupid Caribbean medical school (the education was just fine) and graduating with $500K in student debt which has now grown to over $600k.

Will have to suck it up and basically work like a slave for the next 1-2 years to pay the bulk of it down. At $50k in interest a year I just cant stomach it. I m figuring if I work as a hospitalist at approx $250K ish 14 shifts a month and do another 10-14 shifts elsewhere I can make over $500k with various bonuses.

Even so with approx half of the $500k going to mostly tax and living meagerly, I can maybe save $200-$250k a year to pay towards loans.

MORAL OF THE STORY.... avoid the Carib schools like the plague... High tuition costs with only 50% of grads actually matching into residencies.
 
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