07/26/2026
Tuition.
I never meaningfully attended college.
That doesn't mean I escaped paying tuition.
In 2004, after buying the Downtown Fitness Club, I purchased a Yellow Pages advertisement. It was the marketing playbook at the time. Facebook wasn't part of my world yet. Google advertising was in its infancy. I was sending newsletters by copying and pasting emails into Outlook, fifty recipients at a time because that was the limit.
When the proof for the ad arrived, it looked terrible.
I called the salesperson.
"Cancel it."
He said he would.
I thought the matter was settled.
Months later I received a bill for nearly $4,000.
When I protested, the company mailed me a copy of the contract. Buried in the fine print was the cancellation procedure. I couldn't cancel by phone. I had to send written notice following very specific requirements. The contract also stated that anything the salesperson told me was not binding on the company.
The salesman had since left the company.
For almost two years I fought collection notices before finally negotiating a $2,000 settlement.
At first, I was angry.
Then I realized something.
That wasn't a debt.
It was tuition.
College teaches you to read contracts.
The School of Hard Knocks sends you the invoice after the lesson.
That $2,000 taught me to slow down, read every contract, and never assume a verbal promise overrides the written agreement.
I've saved far more than $2,000 because of that lesson.
Education always costs something.
Sometimes it's tuition before the lesson.
Sometimes it's tuition after the lesson.
But if you're willing to learn, the tuition is rarely wasted.
LTGF Pro Tip: read and understand contracts before signing and paying...at least run them through AI and ask the benefits, risk and overall things to consider.
