Graduate student on a budget: I struggled to accept help from Gen X friends0

• bond-market, budgeting, Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, Business / Big Tech, Business / Companies, Business / Computers and Software, Business / Markets, Business / Social Media, business-idea, business-insider-today, business-strategy, CoECI News, college, E! Insider, Education, Energy & Environment Newsletter, essay, Finance, future-of-finance, Gaming News Roundup, Gear / Gear News and Events, gen-x, Global, Global Precipitation, global warming, globalstar, grad-school, HEALTH, health-freelancer, Home, House, insider-picks, insider-picks-guides, insider-reviews, insider-reviews-2021, insider-today, job-market, Markets, Markets & Festivals, News, newsletter, Newsletters, Nexstar Media Wire News, People News, Personal Finance, personal-finance, Photovogue / Editorial / News, Politics / Politics News, Property / News, Reviews, reviews-rit-ads, savings, Security / Security News, shop, Shop Beauty
• July 5, 2026

In August, I left my steady job as a public high school teacher in New York City to start a full-time graduate program in Manhattan. I was concerned about the choice not only because I loved my work with children, but also because I had traded a steady paycheck and affordable health insurance for tens