I don’t remember what mine was way back when (20 years ago?). It wasn’t so much that I could afford to not work during the summer.

Not all grad students get offered summer work, especially in the first stretch, so until I was getting summer classes, I was definitely scrambling for odd jobs come May, and had to set aside some of my school year pay to cover basics May- September.

But I was making enough to comfortably afford my own apartment. It was in a weird building in an unfashionable neighborhood of a low-tier city, but it was safe, and I didn’t have to find a roommate, and about a 15-minute drive to campus.

There were no vacations, and I had to budget, and if something big came up, like my car dying, or one of my summer jobs or classes falling through, I’d have to supplement with a student loan. But on like, a week to week basis, I was doing ok.