Financial Memes

The true financial horror story of our generation isn't student loans—it's the collection of Schaum's Outlines and textbooks that cost more than a monthly car payment. Those yellow spines represent approximately 47 trees and $2,500 of sunk cost that somehow never taught you how to calculate a mortgage you'll never qualify for anyway. The generational math checks out: Parents bought houses for the price of a Toyota Corolla while we're left wondering if the resale value of "Introduction to Linear Algebra (17th Edition)" might cover next month's ramen budget.