Originally Posted by GBadger
Eh...I beg to differ somewhat. I'm a graduate student too, and making significantly less than listed above (the east and west coast students tend to make a LOT more than we do in the midwest). On top of that, I've managed to buy a house, save for retirement and am still able to take trips on a regular basis. A lot of them are for work, but on my own dime I've been to Hawaii, Connecticut and Boston this year. Will be heading to Romania next summer (thanks to the mileage run forum).
Wait a second, you bought a house and saved for retirement while you were in grad school, making, what $20,000/year including additional teaching in the summer? Did you use years of student loans for a down payment? I know a few students who put their interest-free student loans into the stock market -- but you bought a friggin house on your own? quite remarkable.