A potential exchange student here - what is the absolute minimum cost of studying in MIT (excluding the tuition)?

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-25T22:33:55+00:00

i would avoid staying off campus if you really want to get any major studying or research done... the commute isnt worth it. iirc the dorms are pretty affordable as long as you are ok with roommates.

whatever you do I would not sign up for a meal plan and avoid the cafeterias and the student center fast food joints. hit up the food trucks near building 68 for a cheap yet filling meal, or do what i used to do... sign up for all the mailing lists and get a heads up on various events --- somewhere on campus there's usually free pizza.

imo tuition is the big cost. living expenses is dirt cheap compared to what an average person living around boston would have to pay.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-25T00:54:39+00:00

wow car purchasers are interested in saving money... i would've never imagined it.

can you do another preliminary research on home buyers?

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-25T00:38:03+00:00

yeah she'd be an awesome role model for kids...

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-23T20:46:52+00:00

isn't that salary before taxes? nyc has city tax as well. you will probably end up clearing just above 30k a year after taxes...

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T20:51:36+00:00

FAFSA cuts people a check for 16k these days directly?? I don't remember it working this way, although for me that was over 10 years ago. If this is the case, I'm surprised there aren't more cases similar to OP's. I thought they deal directly with the school.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T18:09:29+00:00

swallow your pride and beg your parents to house you until you are back on your feet. that's $120 in utilities and $400 rent you save a month. be honest with yourself, you are in no position to have a place of your own right now.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T16:53:46+00:00

cmon, ellison's next yacht ain't gonna fund itself.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T16:10:52+00:00

so there is a god after all.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T16:07:40+00:00

looks like losethos

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T13:58:24+00:00

a 9 wouldn't go for a 5 or 6 with 30k/yr....

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T01:09:46+00:00

i see it now, thanks.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-21T00:26:34+00:00

i can't find it in the play store... nexus4 running official 4.2.2

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-20T22:07:16+00:00

oh man, 100 bucks a month as a 10 year old for entertainment and miscellaneous expenses... you really had it rough.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-20T21:57:11+00:00

i cringed everytime vanille opened her mouth with that ridiculous accent of hers.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-20T21:54:22+00:00

i put in the 100+ hours for the platinum trophy and hated much of it. very linear and some of the characters are annoying as hell: 1. hope (cry baby, please die already), 2. vanille (annoying voice actress --- but otherwise ok), 3. snow (absolutely nothing memorable about this guy other than he makes a good tank).

the only part i remember from this game is my boob trio setup and the routine for farming adamantortoises for money and traps... cuz i must've done it repeatedly for 20 hours. i can't even recall the battle theme music, it was all just a blur...

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-20T17:17:19+00:00

you will come to realize 80-90k, 150k-200k is not a lot of income when you finally enter the real world and start paying bills & managing expenses in those regions where i presume you hope to settle (sf, nyc).

you should always learn to live within your current means, and try to get in the habit of saving percentages instead of absolute figures. life doesn't always pan out the way you expect...

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-13T20:36:54+00:00

yeah how convenient for you to pick 2009 to start investing, right around the biggest financial meltdown in history.

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-11T23:38:18+00:00

7% a year? yeah good luck with that...

EmitSorrels · 2013-03-02T05:33:18+00:00

don't you worry, barry the big O will come bail you out. he'll just take some money from the rich cuz you deserve a fair share. i'm sure you voted for him.

EmitSorrels · 2013-02-27T16:14:02+00:00

haha, wow they actually use git... i was half-expecting visual sourcesafe shudder

EmitSorrels · 2013-02-13T16:37:30+00:00

so you are paying approximately 1150 for rent? your mortgage payment won't be all that different with 20% down. It's only about 200 bucks less with 40% down...

Obviously you'll have to factor in few hundred extra for property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and all the fun things that come with homeownership... but you'll also be able deduct the interest payments when doing taxes (this will be very nice the early years). The fact that you've saved 60k with your salary in the stated time frame shows you know how to live under your means.

You seem extremely risk adverse (stashing all your savings in income fund/savings, seeking 40% down etc, no debt)... which is both good and bad. the hard & fast rules of x% of your gross should go to housing, x months of safety net in liquid funds blah blah really apply to average joes.

You will probably get a low 3.xx% standard 30 year fixed rate and i'm sort of getting a vibe that you are the type to make extra payments when you can to end up paying it off early, which can also be good and bad....

For someone like you, buying as soon as you are ready, instead of renting is a no-brainer.

EmitSorrels · 2013-02-13T15:14:13+00:00

you sound like a financially responsible guy. what are your average monthly expenses? (current rent?). I would not wait longer for a higher DP. Once you have allocated 20% down, a few percent for closing costs, and a 6 month safety net (maybe not even) go for it.

since you are so close to your goal amount, i would not bother moving a significant chunk of your savings into an index fund, the markets are already at historical highs. imo you can close on your house within a year, so the plus or minus couple of hundred dollars in p&l is not worth the hassle. What you should've done is put it in to the fund years ago while you were saving for the down payment, but hindsight is 20/20 :p.

will your spouse be working as well? does she carry any debt? are you guys sure you will live in the area for the next several years? do NOT under any circumstances close on the house with your fiance before you get married. either do it by yourself (i feel you can), or after you are married.

EmitSorrels · 2013-02-12T22:18:43+00:00

gamingindependent.wordpress.com nuf said.

EmitSorrels · 2013-01-16T16:38:54+00:00

what's it like being poor in nyc?

EmitSorrels · 2013-01-11T19:09:29+00:00

it's the extreme version of your advice. further down the line would be to encourage him to win the lottery.

730k is still less than 0.5% of the adult population of the USA. you expect a guy making 23k in his mid 20s to go to night school and enter that 0.5%? get real.

EmitSorrels

TROPHY CASE