College Education
You probably have heard of a babe magnet? Maybe a college education can be referred to and thought of as a debt magnet! With the possible exception of healthcare, I do not think anything else is rising in cost like a college education. One estimate says more than 44 million Americans carry around $1.5 Trillion dollars in college debt. That is astounding. The reasons for wanting and earning a degree are innumerous. It might simply be a personal goal, maybe you will be the first in your family, maybe not having a college education will lower your odds of obtaining your dream job, maybe your current employer says it is required to move further up the corporate ladder. I could go on and on, there is no shortage of reasons we want to earn a college degree.
I believe earning a degree is a worthwhile and worthy endeavor. However, please proceed with caution. Mistakes made here can haunt you for many years to come. Most surveys now show that many of the younger generation, think Millennials, are delaying buying homes, getting married, and having kids due to exorbitant amounts of student loan debt. Student loan debt is real, and it is really serious.
While this is an extreme example, I want to share an article I read some time ago about Mr. Meru and his story about college education and debt. This really is quite remarkable.
I would never discourage anyone from seeking their diploma. I would however encourage them to consider less expensive alternatives when choosing a college, its location, etc. Here is a partial list of things to consider:
Can you earn a scholarship to lower costs?
Are there grants or other free monies available? Hint; yes, there are!
Can you start with an Associate’s degree at a local community college?
Will it be In-state or Out-of-State? You bet it matters.
Will it be Public or Private?
What about travel cost between home and campus?
Will your parent’s assist with cost?
Will you live on campus or have roommates off campus?
Will you work?
I think that you get the idea; there is a lot to consider. Both of my daughter’s earned their degrees, with one earning two. I somehow managed to earn a few myself, but I did not come close to earning them the traditional way. You might find how I did it to be the best approach of all, or maybe not. In my book, The Debt Dilemma, I not only provide all of the detail about how I earned my degrees, but I provide many things to consider as you make your decision about going to college. Start a conversation, what questions do you have for me?