In the US, you can't even get by without ~20k/year. I personally use about 15k/year but I budget and I am still in college....and I still don't get everything I need and I also live in an area with a *low* cost of living.

A decent pay rate wo/degree in the US is about 12/hr. Thats medicore work. Shoveling shit gets you about 6/hr. That is about 13k/yr and 26k/yr respectively. Not great.

Not only does a degree help you earn a higher salary, but it puts you in a position to get full insurance for you and your family. $$$

So yeah, if a person is all Bill Gates-smart-don't-need-no-stupid-college.....then yeah, all a degree does is help you get a leg up.

If you are more like me, more common sense than brains, get your ass to college, get a degree and thank yourself for it in the end. With loans nowadays, *anyone* can go to college if they wanted. Besides, college is fuckin' awesome.