About Me

I am currently a student (since 2000) working on my PhD in the School of Education at Indiana University. I have a wife who is a stay at home mom and two adorable kids. My only source of income is my research stipend I get from the University.

I've paid my way through school (my bachelors and Masters) and have made plenty of mistakes along the way. I've also learned quite a bit about saving, making, and investing money and now know that getting ahead financially is possible as a student. I've created this site to share some of my ideas about how to do better with your money while you're still in school.

If you have any comments, would like to contribute or advertise on this site, contact me through email by clicking here . Thanks.

My Story so Far

I was raised in a "Money is tight" household. We always had enough to eat, but getting boxed cereal or eating out at McDonalds was a big deal, a really big deal.

I completed four years of college (my bachelors degree) having only taken out one short term loan for $1100 that was paid off by graduation. My wife did nearly as well, having a $700 loan that was paid off two years after she graduated. While I had no debt, I paid the price by having no car, no computer, no fancy dates, etc.

After getting married and starting my Masters degree we decided that taking out some modest student loans would be a good idea, even though we were both working full time to provide for our growing family. We took out enough to make sure that we could pay for tuition and rent, but no more.

When I started work on my PhD we decided that student loan debt was good debt (we're not even paying interest on it until I graduate) and took out larger amounts. This money pays for our regular expenses but also does something much more valuable--it contributes to our finanacial buffer zone. This might be the smartest financial decision we have made so far.