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UK is around 16k that's more than what I would want to do. Plus, I live at home and have a new car, so the only thing I pay for is wants/gas. So close to 50k when I get out, really isn't that bad. In my opinion.

NKU is $7,000 a semester?! Have you considered UK? Yes, 50K in student loan debt is quite large.


When did UK hit 16k per semester? Are you sure that's not 16K per year?
 
Used on ebay (or some other buy & sell site) is the way to go.

I read almost every day here people saying that RAM is "crazy expensive" but the truth is it's dirt cheap. Ya just have to NOT buy it from a vender or individual advertising "Apple Approved" memory. And used is just as good as new but with a 30 to 40% discount.

Other than this post, your advice for the OP has been abysmal and financially risky. Nobody should take on loans just because someone mistakenly thinks businesses all do it. I own a business and I would never take a loan out for something I can pay for. I refuse to take a writeoff for interest that results in pennies of tax savings simply because people foolishly, and unknowingly, think tax writeoffs somehow are tax advantageous. You get pennies on the dollar in savings so no matter what, that interest is a sunk cost. You cannot recoup it and it is money wasted for no other reason than keeping your own money in the bank, or not having funds available.

The only business reason to take that loan out is if your effective earnings on your money being in your account or investment are actually higher than the cost of the money borrowed, or your need is more urgent than your ability to wait for the business to afford it in full. Yes, there are other cases, but those are basics, at least for small businesses. Since the OP doesn't seem to be in position to need to worry about those, it's going to be a sunk cost if interest is charged, or a credit risk if the loan is taken and payments become financially troublesome. Keep in mind, OP is probably taking on student loans that must be paid and adding an unnecessary debt on top of those payments will only make all the other costs of getting on his/her feet in the real world that much tougher.

Dave Ramsey really does have a great philosophy on money, loans, cars and a wealth of other information. I'd recommend reading his and others' ideas on credit, risk, debt, etc. Recommending debt to an unemployed college student is simply leading them down the wrong path long before they are even ready to put their feet on the path. And to top it off, the OP doesn't even need the machine in the first place so that is credit risk for zero reward, unless having a Mac Pro is somehow just "cool". :)
 
Other than this post, your advice for the OP has been abysmal and financially risky. Nobody should take on loans just because someone mistakenly thinks businesses all do it. I own a business and I would never take a loan out for something I can pay for. I refuse to take a writeoff for interest that results in pennies of tax savings simply because people foolishly, and unknowingly, think tax writeoffs somehow are tax advantageous. You get pennies on the dollar in savings so no matter what, that interest is a sunk cost. You cannot recoup it and it is money wasted for no other reason than keeping your own money in the bank, or not having funds available.

The only business reason to take that loan out is if your effective earnings on your money being in your account or investment are actually higher than the cost of the money borrowed, or your need is more urgent than your ability to wait for the business to afford it in full. Yes, there are other cases, but those are basics, at least for small businesses. Since the OP doesn't seem to be in position to need to worry about those, it's going to be a sunk cost if interest is charged, or a credit risk if the loan is taken and payments become financially troublesome. Keep in mind, OP is probably taking on student loans that must be paid and adding an unnecessary debt on top of those payments will only make all the other costs of getting on his/her feet in the real world that much tougher.

Dave Ramsey really does have a great philosophy on money, loans, cars and a wealth of other information. I'd recommend reading his and others' ideas on credit, risk, debt, etc. Recommending debt to an unemployed college student is simply leading them down the wrong path long before they are even ready to put their feet on the path. And to top it off, the OP doesn't even need the machine in the first place so that is credit risk for zero reward, unless having a Mac Pro is somehow just "cool". :)

Your post was great until this part..
 
I had a CBM PET myself.

I actually had a Macbook Pro on the side as well, which was still absurdly fast for the coursework. Way faster than the professor's primary machine (which was also a MBP), which I got some jokes from the professor about. :)

Keep in mind that most campuses have super-ish computers, and they're available via remote access. I've worked with quad processor Xeons from the comfort of my own chair remotely before in school. No work I was doing required anything those quad processor Xeons couldn't do, and there wasn't any way for me to sit in front of the thing anyway. It was locked up in some closet.
 
A 2010 13" MBP is more than enough for a CS degree. If it's slow, just max out RAM and get an SSD. There may be a portion of your work where you are connecting to remote machines or doing work on lab computers, in which case it doesn't even matter what kind of computer you have.
 
Your post was great until this part..

I don't agree with all of his stuff, but I do find a lot of truth and wisdom in his view on debt, at least to a point. He goes to an extreme where he considers many things to be out of the question, but reality is that sometimes we do what we have to do and it does sometimes cost us a little money for doing so. I just don't condone it for young people who haven't hit the streets to pay their own bills and understand debt, credit, interest, taxes, etc.
 
What a bunch of bullcrap! Philosophy on views of debt. It doesn't get any more moronic that this. Oh wait, it does! People who waste money and time with books written by such morons - from authors who are themselves writing so that the even more moronic will pay off their debts - thru book sales. Wonderful, it's the moronic feeding the moronic - it's a circle of moronism. :D

It's really simple! You don't even need a certified moron (err, philosopher) to help you with it. I'll repeat what I said in the first place in case you skipped it. If you have an income stream to make the payments and a need/desire for the purchase item then go for it. If any of those three aren't there then skip it or lower your purchase goals. But typically the truth is that even lower goals doesn't matter all that much - until you get down to the 3 - 5 year old used category. The difference in monthly payments between a $2k item and a $3K is like $15 or something stupid.
 
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What a bunch of bullcrap! Philosophy on views of debt. It doesn't get any more moronic that this. Oh wait, it does! People who waste money and time with books written by such morons - from authors who are themselves writing so that the even more moronic will pay off their debts - thru book sales. Wonderful, it's the moronic feeding the moronic - it's a circle of moronism. :D

It's really simple! You don't even need a certified moron (err, philosopher) to help you with it. I'll repeat what I said in the first place in case you skipped it. If you have an income stream to make the payments and a need/desire for the purchase item then go for it. If any of those three aren't there then skip it or lower your purchase goals. But typically the truth is that even lower goals doesn't matter all that much - until you get down to the 3 - 5 year old used category. The difference in monthly payments between a $2k item and a $3K is like $15 or something stupid.

And there you go again with horrible, and obviously naive, financial advice, whether or not the income stream supports it. Debt for the sake of having the computer not is not justifcation. I didn't need the author to clue me into how debt works or the soundness of financial decisions, but I was providing you with a source other than my own words. Taking out a loan because you can make the payment....absolutely stupid advice. What happens if it gets wet and is ruined shortly after purchase? AppleCare won't cover it, there are now revolving payments for a product you can't even use and it's likely that since the monthly obligation is there to make the payment the OP couldn't afford to fix that computer.

Debt is a tailspin except for the most responsible out there, but you provided blanket "if you can afford the payment, get it" advice which is financially irresponsible if using common sense.

I've spent far too many years handling the financial side of businesses, including my own, to speak about this so passionately and not know what I'm talking about. Why not suggest to the OP to save up and buy the computer when it's affordable? Or buy what they can afford now, which may very well be a Windows machine since cost will be important in this decision?

Your own method of making financial decisions don't justify you giving the same crappy advice to someone else. And throwing around insulting terms, while beyond childish, just makes your case that much weaker because you had to stoop to playground insults instead of validating WHY your reasoning is sound. All you said, besides moron and moronic, was that if you have the money to make the payment, the loan should be taken out. Brilliant.
 
I still wonder why the OP wouldn't build a Linux box? Then he could dual or even triple boot and still have money for beer, pot, and girls.
 
Your post was great until this part..

I've never listened to Dave Ramsey in my life. First hand, I'm not familiar with what he says. That said, the second hand advice I've heard has always been good.

What's so bad about Dave Ramsey?

----------

What a bunch of bullcrap! Philosophy on views of debt. It doesn't get any more moronic that this. Oh wait, it does! People who waste money and time with books written by such morons - from authors who are themselves writing so that the even more moronic will pay off their debts - thru book sales. Wonderful, it's the moronic feeding the moronic - it's a circle of moronism. :D

It's really simple! You don't even need a certified moron (err, philosopher) to help you with it. I'll repeat what I said in the first place in case you skipped it. If you have an income stream to make the payments and a need/desire for the purchase item then go for it. If any of those three aren't there then skip it or lower your purchase goals. But typically the truth is that even lower goals doesn't matter all that much - until you get down to the 3 - 5 year old used category. The difference in monthly payments between a $2k item and a $3K is like $15 or something stupid.

This is exceptionally terrible advice. You do understand the most basic principle that financing most likely means you will be paying significantly more than the actual price of the item, right?
 
I've never listened to Dave Ramsey in my life. First hand, I'm not familiar with what he says. That said, the second hand advice I've heard has always been good.

What's so bad about Dave Ramsey?

I haven't listened to Dave Ramsey since the summer of 08 when I lived in the states last. His show went from common sense advise albeit with a condescending attitude, to political with condescension. He's not introducing anything new to the conversation, he's made his money buy telling people things they know with some authority. I don't know who that speaks most against people, or him.
 
This is exceptionally terrible advice. You do understand the most basic principle that financing most likely means you will be paying significantly more than the actual price of the item, right?

No. It's already been established in this thread that Apple offers 0% loans. WTF, you don't read?
 
No. It's already been established in this thread that Apple offers 0% loans. WTF, you don't read?

I think the point is moot by now as it seems he doesn't have the income flow to support a loan, nor is it likely he'd qualify for 0% in the first place.

Besides, I think we all figured out early enough that a Mac Pro would be complete overkill for his current needs.
 
No. It's already been established in this thread that Apple offers 0% loans. WTF, you don't read?


Yes. 0% if paid in full in 12 months or if he never makes a late payment. Do you know what the rate is in those cases? I believe it's > 20%.

Someone who is not responsible enough to honestly purchase what they actually need, and further considers using student loan money to do so, is likely not responsible enough to pay off the full amount in < 12 months and never make a late payment.

So yes, my original point still stands. That was exceptionally terrible financial advice.
 
I think the point is moot by now as it seems he doesn't have the income flow to support a loan, nor is it likely he'd qualify for 0% in the first place.

I think most people's non-pedigree dogs could qualify. They make it awfully easy.


Besides, I think we all figured out early enough that a Mac Pro would be complete overkill for his current needs.

And "we" the collective of course know what he needs and wants more than him. Of course... what am I thinking... you for sure know more about a person you never met than he himself.

This is definitely a case where forum advice-giving has gone nutz-o. Not totally uncommon here tho I must admit.
 
I think most people's non-pedigree dogs could qualify. They make it awfully easy.

Unless things have changed over the years, in my experience they are pretty conservative with the credit line they dole out (especially when we're talking MacPro dollars). I personally never applied, but both my wife and dad (2 separate instances) were approved for much less than expected/requested. And they both have substantial incomes/solid credit. It's been a while though, probably 5 or 6 years when those were attempted.


And "we" the collective of course know what he needs and wants more than him. Of course... what am I thinking... you for sure know more about a person you never met than he himself.

This is definitely a case where forum advice-giving has gone nutz-o. Not totally uncommon here tho I must admit.

Stop being dense about it. He came here and asked for advice and we provided. That advice has come from real world knowledge and experience. In addition to that, it was also suggested he find out from the University what specs are recommended. It doesn't take some sort of wizard to conclude that a Mac Pro is not necessary for CS (especially early on). I'm not sure why this is difficult for you to comprehend.
 
Stop being dense about it. He came here and asked for advice and we provided. That advice has come from real world knowledge and experience. In addition to that, it was also suggested he find out from the University what specs are recommended. It doesn't take some sort of wizard to conclude that a Mac Pro is not necessary for CS (especially early on). I'm not sure why this is difficult for you to comprehend.

Yeah, you're right. He should buy an Commodore64. That'll hold his interest through four years of study and add lots of fun to his academic adventures. And it's so obvious to all of us what he needs and what his financial situation is. How dense of me to think otherwise, please accept my deepest apologies.

Hehe.. :D
 
Yeah, you're right. He should buy an Commodore64. That'll hold his interest through four years of study and add lots of fun to his academic adventures. And it's so obvious to all of us what he needs and what his financial situation is. How dense of me to think otherwise, please accept my deepest apologies.

Hehe.. :D

And buy a Tesla S while he's at it too. Walking around campus is too boring. He'll need something to hold his interest.
 
Yeah, you're right. He should buy an Commodore64. That'll hold his interest through four years of study and add lots of fun to his academic adventures. And it's so obvious to all of us what he needs and what his financial situation is. How dense of me to think otherwise, please accept my deepest apologies.

Hehe.. :D

Ya know when I was graduating from HS (1994) all my buddies wanted to be programmers. They all built über PC's to learn programming on because non über PC's were not enough this is not the case anymore. Write your code on your computer and compile it on theirs, easy peasy.

Me I was a Philosophy major bourbon and girls were a great concern of mine not computers.
The guy needs to write code the most basic computer will allow him to do that if he compiles on school computers why is he paying the school if he doesn't get to play with their toys? .

I went to school at Ohio State, My PowerBook 145 needed repair in spring of '95 so I was desperate to find a place to do home work. My roommate was pre-med and told me to go to the pharmacology lab, they always had lots of computers open and they were all Apple.

Moral of the story you can always find a place with fast computers in a quiet area if you look, think outside the box….
 
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Can't believe anyone is recommending taking on debt for a machine that one doesn't need. 0% APR or not, one mishap and you are in trouble.

The advice should be, unless ones business is depending on it where there is a clear path for a ROI, should be 1) Don't buy unless you can pay cash 2) Don't buy more than you can afford.

If you can't front it with cash and don't need the specs, you don't need it nor can afford it.
 
Yeah, you're right. He should buy an Commodore64. That'll hold his interest through four years of study and add lots of fun to his academic adventures. And it's so obvious to all of us what he needs and what his financial situation is. How dense of me to think otherwise, please accept my deepest apologies.

Hehe.. :D


I know dude, the advice of Software Engineers who have completed a B.S. in Computer Science is utterly worthless.

You're a terrible troll. He asked for advice. He received advice.
 
Buy what you can afford, kid.

Get a MacBook Pro to get you through college, and when you have a real job in content work/creation you can bank money for a year or two to buy the latest Mac Pro with TB3 or TB4.

Save up and pay for it with cash. A house is the only thing worth taking a mortgage on.
 
Buy what you can afford, kid.

Get a MacBook Pro to get you through college, and when you have a real job in content work/creation you can bank money for a year or two to buy the latest Mac Pro with TB3 or TB4.

Save up and pay for it with cash. A house is the only thing worth taking a mortgage on.

Your last comment is something I almost agree with 100%.

I'm happy that I took student loans to pay for books/tuition/room/board - and nothing else. (Since my undergraduate college's tuition/board is currently $54k/year, it was necessary.) For graduate school, I had a research assistant job that paid for (state university) tuition and expenses.

Since then, credit card debt = 0. Car loan debt = 0. Other debt = 0. Mortgage debt - well, I do have a home in Silicon Valley with a 15 year mortgage that I'm paying off in 10 years. (And the home's appraised value is four times the loan principal.)

So, my comment is that "a house and education are the only things worth taking on debt" - and don't buy more house than you need or add unnecessary Apples to the education loan.
 
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.

Since then, credit card debt = 0. Car loan debt = 0. Other debt = 0. Mortgage debt - well, I do have a home in Silicon Valley with a 15 year mortgage that I'm paying off in 10 years. (And the home's appraised value is four times the loan principal.)
.

That is really awesome.
 
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