The Washington Post reports on the efforts by Seattle University School of Law to get its students to stop patronizing expensive coffee shops at a time when they are ringing up enormous debt to pay for their educations.
One example: Kirsten Andrews, who “just graduated summa cum laude, after three years of legal training that left her $115,000 in debt. Part of that debt, which she will take a decade to repay with interest, was run up at Starbucks, where she buys her lattes” at about three bucks apiece per day – adding up to more than $3,000 over a three-year period.
The Post writes: “It borders on apostasy in this caffeine-driven town (home to more coffee shops per capita than any major U.S. city, as well as Starbucks corporate headquarters), but the law school is aggressively challenging the drinking habits of students such as Daniels.”
And, the Post adds, “Financial planners, best-selling investment gurus and a number of advice columnists have been warning consumers for years that seemingly insignificant daily spending on such luxuries as gourmet coffee can, over time, sabotage savings and hobble a person's financial future.”
One example: Kirsten Andrews, who “just graduated summa cum laude, after three years of legal training that left her $115,000 in debt. Part of that debt, which she will take a decade to repay with interest, was run up at Starbucks, where she buys her lattes” at about three bucks apiece per day – adding up to more than $3,000 over a three-year period.
The Post writes: “It borders on apostasy in this caffeine-driven town (home to more coffee shops per capita than any major U.S. city, as well as Starbucks corporate headquarters), but the law school is aggressively challenging the drinking habits of students such as Daniels.”
And, the Post adds, “Financial planners, best-selling investment gurus and a number of advice columnists have been warning consumers for years that seemingly insignificant daily spending on such luxuries as gourmet coffee can, over time, sabotage savings and hobble a person's financial future.”
- KC's View:
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We think that the worrywarts at the Seattle University School of Law need to switch to decaf.
Not to minimize their concerns, but if they are really worried about the financial futures of their students, maybe they could do something about making law school a little less expensive? If three bucks for a latte helps a kid get through law school with decent grades, we think there are a lot more important things to be worried about.
As a parent, we’ll go on record right now that if one of our kids would like to go to law school and graduate summa cum laude, we’ll volunteer to pay for one venti latte or cappuccino per day for the entire three years of law school.
Seems like a pretty good investment.
