Living in a van - an inspirational story of frugality and achievement

  1. My identity is revealed.
  2. Duke knows about the van.
  3. I... am... fucked.

  I promise to take care of toxic waste for some large 
  manufacturing corporations. I take their money and 'dispose'
  of the waste. What if I dispose of the waste into waterways 
  (lakes, rivers,etc)? My customers are happy because the waste
  is taken off of their hands. If anyone ever finds out about
  the dumping, they can claim to no know anything (and they
  may well not know anything) and *I'm* the one that takes
  the fall, not them. In the meantime, they get to reap the
  benefits of cheaper disposal (since it's not being disposed
  of properly). I would hardly say that I'm making the world
  a better place though.

No, they don't. The facts are that your prospects as an English major are, on average, fairly dim. However, your assumption that everyone will be in your position after graduation is woefully self-absorbed.

I have sympathy for my fellow students. I did many of the same things when I was an undergrad. Plus, escaping student debt -- no matter how frugal they try to be -- is nearly impossible. Even if they do resort to purchasing a large creepy van, most will still have to go tens of thousands of dollars into debt to pay for tuition.

I think not.

The idea of "thrift," once an American ideal, now seems almost quaint to many college students, particularly those at elite schools. The typical student today is not so frugal. Few know where the money they're spending is coming from and even fewer know how deep they're in debt. They're detached from the source of their money. That's because there is no source. They're getting paid by their future selves.

And? He states this like it's prima facie ridiculous. The world runs on non-liquid assets and loans. If he thinks that he's somehow permanently escaped loans and debt he is going to have a rude awakening when he goes to buy a house and needs to take out a mortgage. Of course, he could always choose never to buy a house and live in a van for the rest of his life, but that completely ruins his idea of how "sensible" he is for avoiding college loans.

In essence, if he enjoys living frugally and does it for internal reasons (Thoreau's ideal) then that is perfectly fine. However if he believes that he is somehow in a better living and financial situation than the rest of his peers he is simply deluding himself. Yes, college education is exorbitant and yes loans make take years, even decades, to pay off. However, the idea that loans are obviously a negative thing have no basis in math or economics. One can construct situations in which loans and debt result in disaster, sure, but one can also create similar situations that have no negative consequence. That is, it is not the loan itself which is prima facie negative, but the circumstances surrounding it.

I think I got it down to under $2/meal with a carb, protein, and veggie/fruit component to each meal. Pretty amazing when you factor in that I did ~50% of my shopping at Whole Foods. (they have quite competitive prices when it comes to frozen veggies and dried pasta)

Amazing how far money will go when you don't have very much of it.