Travelling

Having time to travel is a great part of being a student again. As with most pleasurable things, however, there’s the catch-22 of paying for the fun with a bigger loan or smaller savings.

Each incremental £5k adds £110/mo to an 8% 7-year student loan. Considering average MBA compensation, the loan trade-off seems well worth it. A two-year budget of £5-10k would enable plenty of fun weekend (x£400) and week-long (£1k) trips.

To fund these getaways, you can tap into loans, savings, an internship, a full-time signing bonus, scholarship, or part-time work. You can also sublet your place or time your lease to end when you want to take longer trips to generate extra cash.

If you like to make trade-offs, such as a longer life vs. smoking/drinking, then you might as well splurge for travel. Not doing so may leave stress on the table that burns your wick just that much faster.