<prompt> Human: Retrospectively I got mine when I was 14 years-old. My grades were always C, and my dad offered me the equivalent of 30 for each subject I managed to score an A.My dream was to buy a computer worth around 300... so I studied like crazy and managed to get 9 out of 10 As... and got 270... My mom donated the remaining 30... and that AHA moment changed my life.Yours?  <response>: Mine happened when I graduated in Dec 2008. I had 30K student debt when I graduated out of grad school with interest rate north of 13 I arrived in America without financial aid for a Masters degree in a high rank state school. I could not get hired for a year after graduation and the amount I owed rose up to almost 40K. Exactly 53 weeks after graduation yes, I was counting I had an offer letter to join a company in Silicon Valley on an almost six digit salary with bonuses. I moved, started working and continued my frugal grad student no more than 350 on credit cardmonth lifestyle and paid it all off within 14 months. All my friends mocked me for not buying a beamer, not living in the hip parts of the valley and for not not owning a smartphone and other hip gadgets.Little did they know that my parents had put the house they live as collateral for my student loans and I didnt want to ruin their retirement savings nest to pay off my loans.I didnt want to be a penny pincher when I did go out, I just minimized the number of meals outside to max 2 mealsweek or 40week. Avoided flight tickets, even though I was in a long distance relationship were married for 4 years now:. I sat on a plane after my debt was gone.This experience has changed how I view money forever! 