Sleeping in my Car to Pay off my Student Debt (Reacting to Biden's Loan Forgiveness)

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
  • Today I take a walk through Prague (No I didn't sleep in my car last night) and I discuss how I paid off my $23000 Dollars worth of Student Loan Debt in the US and How I feel about Biden's Plan to Forgive Student Loan Debt.
    Tell me what you think about the US Forgiving Student Loan Debt in the Comments.
    Follow me on Instagram at:
    / thepragueexpat
    Thanks for watching my video "Sleeping in my Car to Pay off my Student Debt (Reacting to Biden's Loan Forgiveness)"
    Consider subscribing for New Videos Every Week

Komentáře • 92

  • @fishefoods5705
    @fishefoods5705 Před rokem +2

    congratulations on paying that off, im a drop out as well from community college. 10k is all need to be student loan debt free. Im doing just fine without a college degree just like yourself. college is a scam imo. i could have paid it off. I think your absolutely right about the loan forgiveness. you get it man

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +2

      Congrats, Paving your own path without a college degree is always extremely impressive to me. I enjoyed college. I was studying Geology and I wanted to be Park Service since I was a kid 😃. I genuinely was interested in what I was learning and I had some pretty cool professors. That being said, I wish I would of realized before those 2 years of college that there are so many skills you can learn for free on youtube that can generate a bigger income then what you get from college. haha especially if you study something like political science.

    • @fishefoods5705
      @fishefoods5705 Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 Thanks it is overwhelming at first. With how many people change majors it seems like such a waste to go to college without knowing what you want to do. You knew and thats good. Most of my friends after dropping out of college have not gone to college or completed it tbh, we are all doing just fine and didn't have debt to worry about. also investing crypto has been a very positive thing you mentioned.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      ​@@fishefoods5705 Yeah not so much money in the park service though and living in North Dakota or Texas in the oil fields wasnt what I wanted to do. Yeah crypto set me free.. I met someone at a Amazon seller conference in summer 2017 that sent me down that rabbit hole... and that was life changing.

    • @fishefoods5705
      @fishefoods5705 Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 I found not much money in any one thing for a drop out and even in lots of fields. you need to do something extra. I have multiple jobs. I mentioned I'm teaching my self Czech at one of them its an easy job. You learned how to start a business in Amazon. We both learned about crypto. Nothing is stopping anyone from being successful but themselves imo, but you do have to work for it and that's not what people want to do. They worked hard for that one thing it sucks that the way it is that one thing won't get you what you think it will. This doesn't change my plan to keep chugging along and doing what I need to to keep trying to get ahead. I think it's all fluff to get the political bases fired up and I'm tired of it. Just one day at a time. I hink it gets better from here

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      ​@@fishefoods5705 All the psychological games with the political situation in America is extremely tiresome. Thats a good approach taking it one ay at a time.
      Agreed if you have your own sense of curiosity and drive you can always find an alternative way to make an income. Amazon, Crypto, if I had to go back to the US tomorrow I would go to Florida and start a mobile car detailing business.. cheap start up costs and if you hustle you can get profitable really quick, ebay is another

  • @andypurcell1
    @andypurcell1 Před rokem +4

    I am 55. College was 1/10th the price. I paid for my Son’s Sac State degree at $8000 a year. When I went, it was $780 a year. I was in the Army during the longest peace time in USA history and received $21000 1984 dollars for college. My generation had it so much easier. I retired from the State of California at 50. Your generation has to work to 57 and actually gets less. I am an expat in Budapest and really enjoy the V4 nations. I am sorry that my generation and my father’s generation destroyed everything your great grandfather and my grandfather generation earned by winning WW2. Always remember the Ruble and the dollar were on parody in 1984 and the Soviet Union put a man in space before us. Soon we will be like the Soviet Union. Giving up a nation without a war. Don’t worry the politicians will reap the spoils. My dad’s generation claimed bankruptcy after graduating college so they didn’t have to payback their loans. They closed that loophole when I went. Don’t let anyone ever tell your generation that you have no morales nor a work ethic. Your generation is the most productive in history and yet the rewards aren’t as plentiful.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      Thats good of you to help your son through college.
      Thanks for the story. I didn't realize that about the Ruble and the USD. That is quite the comparison between the USA and USSR "giving up a nation without a war". Its really heartbreaking. Hungary is a great choice. I like that program Hungary has to incentivize women to have more children and pay no income tax in the future. I forgot how many kids they need to have but its great to get birth rates up. Europe needs that.

    • @viktornovomestsky3999
      @viktornovomestsky3999 Před rokem +1

      @@ThePragueExpat0 Well, yeah, it sounds like a good plan, but it does not work at all in Hungary, as the fertility rate still remains at the 1,6 child per woman (you need 2,1 in order to maintain your population)..The program has been introduced in 2014 already, without a success.. In Czech rep. it's about 1,9, but growing each year, for consecutive 12 years.. By the way, when talking to a Czech person, don't mention "Hungary being a great choice", as we have a really bad relations with them - due to their backsliding democracy, rule of law, widespread corruption, misuse of EU subsidies and these days mainly due to their stance on Russia's war in Ukraine (repeating Kremlin's lies, demanding scraping of all sanctions, forbiding military hardware to pass through their land, not giving them a single bullet, while we the Czech rep. have sent heavy military stuff, such as tanks, howitzers and so on in worth more than 400 million € (about 10 billion CZK) and giving asylum, jobs, schools, medical care and so on to more than 440.000 refugees to this day)... He has even got a nice nickname "the little Putin"..

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      @@viktornovomestsky3999 Yeah one thing that is noticable here is my wife's friends who mostly she has the same friends since high school are having children and a far higher rate here than my friends with their partners/wives/husbands in the US. I think all of them have college degrees as well and just isnt common among my peers and people I grew up with in the US. Thats too bad to hear about Hungary's failed program.. I read about it a year or 2 ago but havent followed up with how effective it has been.
      I have Hungarian friends that I met from work study programs in the US and I enjoyed the times I spent in Hungary. My czech wife also loves going to Hungary so this is largely behind the statement "Hungary is a great choice".
      Ultimately a place is not just its government but the people and place and I have only had positive experiences from my time in Hungary.

    • @viktornovomestsky3999
      @viktornovomestsky3999 Před rokem +1

      @@ThePragueExpat0 I suppose you have met only the good Hungarians - there are plenty of them, about 35% of the population, but the problem is, that it's hard to get to know them, as above 80% of the media are owned by pro-government oligarchs and their only purpose is to celebrate Orban, Szijarto (foreign minister) and all the actions his government does.. So there is still a free thinking society, but they are hardly visible... F.e. in the last election, which took place in March this year, the opposition leader, Peter Marki Szjoi, has got only 5 mins of airtime in the TV, during the whole 2 months of campaign... Plus Orban has rewritten the election rules, therefore it is almost impossible to get rid of him, as even with let's say 40% of the vote, he gets "supermajority" in the government, currently at about 75%.. Therefore he has been in power since 2010.. To at least till 2026 now after the election this year... He and his government are the most hated in the EU since at least 2013, currently 4 EU court proceedings are against him and the EU comission has stopped giving him billions of € EU subsidies because of frauds and corruption...
      Just to ilustrate the written above, in the report "Reporters without borders" Hungary is backsliding year over year, taking the 85th place in 2022 - the worst in whole EU (for comparison: Poland is the 66th, Slovakia 27th and Czech rep. 20th)
      I suppose your wife loves to go to Hungary because of their thermal baths:)?... And sorry, I do not want to be disgraceful, there are plenty of good people, they're just hard to find...
      The fertility rate might be caused by 3 things: 1) The maternity leave can be taken for 2-4 years, with the guarantee that your employer will keep the same vacancy for you... 2) You will receive 300.000 CZK parental money (divided by 24 to 48 month payments)... 3) The Czech ladies (and Slovakians and Polish as well) are simply hot:)

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      Haha she likes alot of things about Hungary. She likes the food, the architecture, they have some nice art museums in Budapest (which isnt unlike most capital cities but still nice), our friends there, haha and the thermal baths.
      Yes exactly the maternity leave here is such a great thing that I hope will benefit this country in the future. In the US people with little education and resources to be good parents are having children at a far higher rate than people who are educated and can provide a stable home with more opportunities for their kids.
      As for Orban I dont know much about him or the state of Hungarian politics.. Im firstly trying to understand Czech politics. I only have so much time in the day to spend on politics and my Czech friends love to talk about American politics which is utterly exhausting. I hate American politics and American journalistic integrity for that matter. Tulsi Gabbart which is the only politican I have voted for in the past decade now,(before that Ron Paul if you know American Politics) she had similar airtime problems going against our senile pedofile President Joe Biden.

  • @LOVETELinfo
    @LOVETELinfo Před rokem

    I cite David Graeber: [Debt cancellation] would be salutary not just because it would relieve so much genuine human suffering, but also because it would be our way of reminding ourselves that money is not ineffable, that paying one’s debts is not the essence of morality, that all these things are human arrangements and that if democracy is going to mean anything, it is the ability to all agree to arrange things in a different way.

  • @privacymatters4714
    @privacymatters4714 Před rokem

    Good morning! First time finding you. I'm applying for Slovak citizenship my family was from Czechoslovakia. Your videos make me happy. The amount of debt my husband has from his PHD is insane.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      That’s great! Good luck on your process to get your citizenship? Is it through a parent?

    • @davidfans5852
      @davidfans5852 Před rokem

      And where are you from

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      @@davidfans5852 I have Irish and American citizenship

    • @davidfans5852
      @davidfans5852 Před rokem +1

      @@ThePragueExpat0 no i meant privacy matters

    • @privacymatters4714
      @privacymatters4714 Před rokem

      @@davidfans5852 I live in the US. I am between Brooklyn and outside Santa Fe New Mexico. GET ME OUT!!! lol

  • @MacGyver5AF
    @MacGyver5AF Před rokem +2

    Hi, Daniel,
    let me sum up some thoughts...
    1) I have never been to US, and I have never studied there (obviously), so my viewpoint is "strictly" czech...
    2) I am afraid that changing the fact, how university system works in the US, and the student debts, which it generates, ... the first thing to be changed is (american) mental setting. They think that everything can be labeled with price label... so they did... But czech mental setting I believe is different... From my experience and viewpoint, sometimes the best things come / happen free
    3) Attending an university in the Czech republic is free, BUT (you SHOULD ask your wife for very current situation and laws, I ended my studies at 2011, so the situation could have changed)
    A) there is magical age of 26 years, in that moment, you have to start to pay your health insurance
    B) if you exceed the time (plus some extra time, I don't know how long the extra time is) which you have been granted to graduate (2 years, 3 years, 5 years, depending on the programme), you will have to pay in order to continue your studies
    4) I don't know, what kind of enrichment did the university give you, but in my case, the university made me realize how to think in links, it taught me how to use my mental capacity. That was the thing I was the Charles University grateful for... And I also realized that doctoral studies are above my level and my (mental and practical) setting was and still is different....

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +2

      Congrats on your Degree from Charles University, that is a very prestigous University!
      At this point I dont have any plan to go to college for a degree. I came here with a set of skills that I taught myself to make a living and I just plan to expand upon those.
      I appreciate the information on attending university here though.
      I enjoyed college but the entire time I was nervous about the debt that was adding up and wondering about my ability to pay the debt off. For many college was a great place to network, to make friends with other educated people and might get you places you wouldnt be able to go just on your own. I did not do a good job of networking at all as I mostly just had one close friend that I navigated my time at college with.
      Thanks for your comment. I always enjoy reading yours

  • @DC-ef8op
    @DC-ef8op Před rokem

    I am so pissed, i paid off my student loans, why???? I was told my husband to pay the minimum but did not listen. I was attacked by a dog and got a tiny settlement that I used to help pay off my some of my student loans. This is so not fair.

  • @nf3922
    @nf3922 Před rokem +1

    And, as expats we have to spend hundreds of dollars to properly file our taxes, even if we never make enough to file. Then if you run a business abroad, they make you pay around 15% of your profit to Uncle Sam no matter where you live or even if you never step foot in the US for the rest of your life.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +2

      And don’t worry they are expanding the budget for irs agents so now they can finally do an adequate job of auditing you. 🤡

  • @adamkencki
    @adamkencki Před rokem

    ït must have been realy lovely to live in the national park!

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      Yeah it definitely was, and easy to save money because all the entertainment you need is going on hikes

  • @krastycz1810
    @krastycz1810 Před rokem

    Depending on what you study, a college degree isn't necessary but rather a liability concerning the time and money spent in getting it. I'm in favor of vocational technical schools and as you know, here in the Czech Republic, they have high schools that prepare their students to work in specific vocations like carpenters, car mechanics and etc. Congratulations on paying your student loan back!

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +2

      Yeah I really like that about the Czech Republic.. even high schools for aspiring watchmakers! I agree the world needs more vocational technical schools.. I wish I was more mechanically savvy. I wish I knew how to work on my own car and things like that. I mean I could learn alot of that on CZcams but I always outsource it to a mechanic anyway.

    • @stevemcgowen
      @stevemcgowen Před rokem +1

      In the US- at least where I live, young people only want to work in tech or online jobs. There are free vocational schools which just can't get students. The trucking industry is hurting because the average age of truckers is 62 and factories are closing because of lack of workers. I see job posts for $25/hr to start as an apprentice in a machine shop, CNC trainee or tool and die shop, and they still can't get workers.

  • @conceptalfa
    @conceptalfa Před rokem

    👍👍👍

  • @luckhurstrobert
    @luckhurstrobert Před rokem

    I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I don't see why it's OK for people to sign up for 6 figure USD debts before they are old enough to buy alcohol (in the US its 21 right?). On the other I do understand the issue of "moral hazard" you raised (I remember something from having limped to the end of an Economics degree nearly 2 decades ago...)

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      Its an extremely polarizing topic. You should see how many people unsubscribed because of this video. 😃
      I think alot of people who are protesting having to pay their debt back, if instead they focused that energy on a business or idea or shit a youtube channel talking about how they dont want to pay their debt back they would get alot farther in life.
      Also what alot people dont say is the people who have 6 figs took out loans bigger than what they needed so they could get the nicest apartment, eat out every night and go to Miami for the Spring Break parties everyone hears about in the US.

    • @luckhurstrobert
      @luckhurstrobert Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 Interesting that your subscriber count dropped. I'm not really close enough to the subject to have a strong opinion. I suppose I would make a distinction between paying back the principle of the debt vs the interest (don't know what you pay, in the UK it's either the inflation rate or Bank of England rate +1%, which is reasonable).
      It also depends on who is taking the haircut, from what I understand it will be the general tax payer, which will add to inflation to your earlier point.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      @@luckhurstrobert Haha yea. I have a friend in the US I have known since she was like 8 and I was 10... I told her I think she should pay her loans back (she has a masters as a Dietician and makes close to 6figs) because the system worked for her. Now she wont talk to me or hasnt for sometime. Its almost as polarizing as abortion in the US these days.
      I dont remember what my interest rate on my loans where. I took out 20k in loans and I owed 23k after not paying for a good amount of time.
      Yes the general tax payer is hurt in the end. Shortly after this video released Biden announced forgiveness for 10k for people who make I think under 130k per year

  • @zcorpalpha2462
    @zcorpalpha2462 Před rokem +1

    Inflation 💸

  • @zlatakelembet3680
    @zlatakelembet3680 Před rokem +1

    I can certainly understand your frustration with it. You worked your hardest to get rid of this debt and now seeing others get it off their hands so easily seems like a slap in the face.
    Not to mention the strategy is appalling. Paying 100% of the dept at once can cause some really big problems.
    However, I do think that having to pay for the higher education is wrong. There are certain jobs that you can't perform without it. For example, I firmly believe, that being a doctor is a born talent. But if you want to be a doctor in the US you need to have a student debt of several hundred thousands. That is insane! Basically US government punishes doctors for beeing doctors by giving them such a huge dept they have to work A LOT to pay it off.
    So I can see what Biden wanted to do, and I agree with the good intentions, but definitely not with the execution. -_-

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      I agree higher education should be free or at least affordable. I made this video but I DID enjoy college. I was studying Geology and I was studying what genuinely interested me. Maybe someday I will go to college here in CZ and pay the much lower tuition fees for people over 26, to get the degree finally as it would be a fun thing to do.

    • @zlatakelembet3680
      @zlatakelembet3680 Před rokem

      I do agree that college / university is a great thing. The hardest is to find what you would actually enjoy. 🙂
      From what I know the most you would pay in Czech Universities after 26 is $2000 per semester.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      @@zlatakelembet3680 Yeah I have seen the same price $2000 per semester which I think is a very reasonable cost for tuition.

    • @stevemcgowen
      @stevemcgowen Před rokem

      I think the plan is only $10K in debt forgiveness, not 100%. The American average student loan debt is 3X that much...

    • @zlatakelembet3680
      @zlatakelembet3680 Před rokem

      @@stevemcgowen You are right. I somehow missed it. 😀

  • @josefchodounsky8173
    @josefchodounsky8173 Před rokem

    Well. Thx for sharing your story. But you are still missing a point of solidarity. I would wish to everyone be pardoned their student dets. Education should be free. And in our country is free. Did you hear about Milostivé léto? Learn About it and think. Thanks.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      I agree education should be free.. or at the very least affordable. In a fair society how do you only reward the people who live indulgently and irresponsibly while others toil, struggle and work hard to do the right thing? How do you compensate people who dropped out of college or chose not to go to college even though they wanted to because they didnt want to take on that debt?

    • @zcorpalpha2462
      @zcorpalpha2462 Před rokem

      Inflation , ever heard of it

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      Also I had not heard of Milostivé léto, Thanks for the constructive criticism.

    • @WwarpfirewW
      @WwarpfirewW Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 I agree with you, this was the worst solution, if they wanted to do something with debt, maybe they should cut procentage of it rather then 100%, it could be better for people to pay less so they have chance to get rif of it easier but not without work

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      @@WwarpfirewW I really dont see how they can equitably come to a solution. I have a friend who bought a thousand dollar van and a membership to the YMCA and lived in that van for almost a year so he could pay his student loans off.. I think he had 50k in debt.
      Meanwhile I know other people who would take out the biggest loan possible and spend the extra money (as its deposited to your bank account) to go on trips for Spring Break or order out food every night.
      Its a polarizing topic. Probably shouldnt have made a video about it.

  • @martinamcmayo3826
    @martinamcmayo3826 Před rokem

    I will start with this: If America has BILLIONS to bail out Big Banks, Big Companies and give Rich even bigger tax breaks, surely there is enough money to help the hard working people! Being born in the former Czechoslovakia (the Slovak part) and now living in the USA, I can see both sides of the issue. No one talks about the biggest issue that the college/education in America is ungodly expensive. And NO, College/Education is not a scam. They want us to think that. Soon only the Rich will have the Privilege to study and improve themselves. Why are the College Sport Programs in America so expensive? The College Football Coaches in USA get paid MILLIONS!!! It's the same as the Prison system - it's a money making scam! America has so much potential but people give in into this GREEDY CAPITALISM too much. Most importantly - America wants uneducated voters. And I don't mean you are only Intelligent and Educated if you go to College. But majority of people who do not attend college are very narrow minded simpletons. They are extremely IGNORANT! About EVERYTHING! Ignorance is DANGEROUS. Ignorance breeds HATE and Hate breeds VIOLENCE. America is the perfect example of it. 40% of America worships life long Liar and Criminal. They cannot see further than their McDonald's lunch. They don't care about anyone or anything...unless something happens to them. Then poor me, government help me (but they don't like if the government helps someone else). I have a friend who had a college debt and that loan was sold to a predatory bank (out of her control). She was paying so much (with huge interest) that she had to make a choice if to buy food or pay her loan. She got her loan forgiven and I couldn't be more happy for her!

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      This is a very polarizing topic. I personally know people that got into college.. even graduated at the top of their class in high school who did not go to college because they would have to take on significant debt to get a degree. That is a crime against a generation of millenialials and gen z that resisted that debt that cannot be fixed unless 10k stimulus checks are cut to them.
      Im not arguing in this video that college education shouldnt be affordable or socialized.. Thats what I wanted all along and that is part of why I moved here so my son could get an education that I did not get. I would have preferred to have finished my degree. I would have also preffered to instead of constantly worrying about the debt I was taking on and whether I could pay it back been able to just immerse myself in my college experience. After all that I was still an honors student in college taking honors classes and working a full time job for about half the time I was in college. However still as an honors student I didnt qualify for a scholarships because I am white, male and my divorced parents made too much $$ between them for me to qualify for any scholarship and not enough for them to contribute towards my tuition.
      Alot to digest here but I agree not only sports coaches but teachers who just assign teachers assistants to teach their classes should not be payed so much. Teachers dont make millions but they certainly can make hundreds of thousands and often they are the ones having teaching assistants teach their classes. They dont charge 20k per year at the Univerisity of Michigan per student just to pay the coaches. Teachers make alot.
      Many schools that are not as prestigious teach alot of expensive programs like a sociology majors. A sociology degree at my not very prestigous college would cost about 12k per year. Then many of those people take 20k per year to cover living expenses and rent. Then when they graduate they cant get a job that pays that loan off. Meanwhile the faculty gets paid very well to teach courses that dont set the students up for success. I know many servers in restaurants I managed who where sociology or humanities majors.
      Also the US doesnt have money to bail out anyone. When they bailed out the banks they printed money to bail out the banks just as what they are doing to bail out student loans. The US is the biggest debtor country in the history of the world. They should have never bailed out the banks. They should have never bailed out companies during Covid either. When most companies are irresponsible they go bankrupt. Why should Boeing or Citi Bank be any different?

    • @martinamcmayo3826
      @martinamcmayo3826 Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 You made very good points and we agree on mostly everything :o) When society (like USA) is based on MONEY only, that society cannot last. Human beings in America don't matter. Workplace doesn't care if you are sick, if your child is sick... That is why I admire countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany...they have pretty much figured it all out (not everything), but the important human issues. They give women time off after birth of their babies (with pay), affordable health care...I can go on and on. America is great country to make money but the rest SUCKS! I know I will move back to Europe when I retire. I want to live in a "relative" Democracy and to be able to afford to eat well, have affordable healthcare and travel. I am sick of Americans and their Religion. I live in a red state. On daily basis at work I am told I am going to hell, I need to repent for my sins and go to their church! My friend worked for a small company. He left, they were forcing him to PRAY!!! Otherwise they would not give him his paycheck. They called it "Daily prayer meetings" and on Friday's they were giving out paychecks. My friend refused to pray, they refused to pay him! They finally gave him his check, but OMG!!! These are some sick people!!! Freedom my Ass! (pardon my vulgarity). Why I cannot be free from their constant judgment. If we don't turn around this in November and in 2024 - America will be like Russia on Steroids (plus RELIGION!). Frightening!

  • @Eggerhexe
    @Eggerhexe Před rokem

    I don't personally have any college debt, and I see the reasoning for your opinion, but you don't seem to notice that you are probably smarter than 90% of us Americans. Many, many people that you don't personally know, a large percentage of college students, have been flat-out duped by their upbringing and accept debt as a given, and are and will be poor their entire lives. You are rich BECAUSE they weren't all savvy enough to start their own Amazon hustle--if everyone "just" would start their own Amazon hustle, you wouldn't be making the profits you do. The problem is that even the average (and you are above-average, remember) well-meaning US citizen has the whole system stacked against them, and the cost of the college was predatory and BS to begin with. So I feel your pain that you did things the honorable way, but that honor shouldn't come across as jealousy. Most people with that debt were told their entire life that the only way to make money is if you have a college degree, and they get the loan first, and find out only later that their degree is worthless. Very few people have the intellectual means to pull themselves out of that trap, so I think that the effect of this forgiveness will cause many people's opinions on the "necessity" of a degree and what is a reasonable price for it will change drastically as a result. So, net good, is my thinking. I personally like your honesty, and the information you present, but I wonder if you realize quite how privileged you come across as (compared to the average American). If you tell us some stories of hard times growing up I'll withdraw that judgement, though.😉

    • @Eggerhexe
      @Eggerhexe Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 Your life sounds so much like mine, but I never saw the opportunities I had until they were behind me. I know you want to improve your speaking skills, and you don't THINK you are intellectually further along than others, so that is why I am bluntly telling you that you are. What seems like a simple process to you is not simple to others, so to be more relatable, remember that not everyone is cut out to be a manager, especially when it comes to managing their own life.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +1

      @@Eggerhexe I like this " to be more relatable, remember that not everyone is cut out to be a manager, especially when it comes to managing their own life."

  • @zcorpalpha2462
    @zcorpalpha2462 Před rokem

    I see you never lived in the streets , huh 🤔

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem +2

      Depends on what you mean by streets. Before this story.. back in 2014 I was living in my car for a couple months.

    • @zcorpalpha2462
      @zcorpalpha2462 Před rokem +1

      @@ThePragueExpat0 I see
      Step up then
      Tough to do

  • @rnt45t1
    @rnt45t1 Před rokem

    How did I end up on Dwight Schrute's son's channel?

  • @caroline4323
    @caroline4323 Před rokem

    Heh... Honestly, that´s something very "American" we might want to learn. Taking responsibility and choosing the hard way. Making it happen. Our lazyass attitude of complaining a lot- not doing much is kind of pitiful.
    Secondly. The inflation issue. It´s not that far-off a problem to us. When I see our prime minister trying to come up with some "cushion" ideas to sweeten the crisis for the crowds I cringe and it makes me anxious. People crying "oh dear, I can´t have the heating set up for 18 degrees only," I think what the hell??? There´s a war on right next door, people get killed and bombed and you can´t wear an extra layer of clothing?? I lived in an apartment with crappy heating (expensive and very dry air, I was constantly ill) so I basically learnt not to turn on the heating and wear warm clothes.
    To this day I turn on the heating just a few times in winter when it gets really cold or when I have visitors and I feel uncomfortably hot when I visit somebody...
    Tuition- personally don´t think it should be completely free. Or maybe some funds for those who have it really hard. But universities should set a higher bar. You are that good- have it for free. There are loads of people with a degree who can´t add two and two.

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      Yeah inflation is getting crazy here as well. The heating oil will be very very expensive this winter and yes I will be wearing an extra layer 😃
      The system in American with tuition being extremely expensive has stopped people who could bring skills to the country that would help society.
      I made this video before the announcement but they did cancel I think up to Ten Thousand Dollars of student loan debt. Lots of people are really happy right now and lots of people are mad because they wanted it all canceled.

    • @caroline4323
      @caroline4323 Před rokem

      @@ThePragueExpat0 Well, it´s going to be difficult. But "blanket" measures are not the best way to do it. Most people are not good at economizing and when it comes to government etc. they might focus on where money leaks and who raises prices disproportionately. I am reconstructing a flat, my friend works in the building industry and the materials are overpriced, companies just want to "milk" the opportunity that there´s inflation going on and come up with prices that are not even close to cost+ reasonable profit.
      In that context, I found your story really inspiring... You set your goal, slept in a car etc. Here, too many people shout for government support, instead of focusing on bettering their situation. If that happens, companies/producers/suppliers can raise their profit more and more....
      I am not very certain what´s the best thing about tuition but there are too many people with a diploma doing odd jobs (me included) and when you need a good electrician you need to know a friend of a friend of a friend...

    • @ThePragueExpat0
      @ThePragueExpat0  Před rokem

      @@caroline4323 ​ The government support is only ever going to be just enough to keep you alive or so you never truly live. America is full of people like this and they spend so much time complaining about their benefits or how they are a victim somehow. People spent hours of their day looking for memes to share about how bad they have it to their facebook friends. When I wanted to start my Amazon business I wanted to start it with one of my best friends at the time. He never would wake up early for our planning sessions.. complain he drank too much.. Now almost 10 years later he is living in poverty in America begging for government support. Its really pitiful.
      This is interesting information about your apartment reconstruction.. Iv only ever rented but buying a flat is something I want to do (to settle down somewhere).