Advice: Money and Debt
Avoid taking out too many college loans
“I have a friend who went to UNH to become a coach and now has over $150,000 worth of loans. Studying to be a coach isn’t necessarily a bad thing and he’s very good at what he does, but if you think about $150,000, that’s a house in today’s market. So he’ll be paying off the equivalent of one house, and if he wants to buy an actual house or make another big purchase, that’s going to be very hard for him to do. Taking out a lot of loans can have serious consequences.”
Come up with a plan in college to pay off your student loans
“While you’re still in school, sit down and really think about what do you want to do when you get out. You’re going to have to do something, and there are plenty of online tools that will help you determine what the salary range is going to be for what you want to do. Then, start to really parse out and compare what you expect to make and what the growth potential is for the field that you’re looking to land in after college. By comparing those figures, you can begin to estimate how much debt you can afford to take on.”
— in Think about what you plan to do after school before taking on student loans
Paying off student loans
“I’m not sure how much I borrowed in total, but now for student loan repayments I pay $300 a month. I got three years of room and board taken care of for me and went to one of the lower-end priced schools, and I’m still paying $300 a month to pay back my student loans. I’m grateful that I have a college education because without it I wouldn’t be in the job I have now, but I think it’s better to go to one of the state schools or local community colleges.”
— in Cost of college
Getting into debt to keep up with wealthy friends
“I went to a college with a lot of wealthy people. I remember one day I said I didn’t have money and somebody said, ‘oh, just go to the ATM.’ On an intellectual level, I knew that was ridiculous and wow, what a difference. That is really when I began to understand class difference and how profound it was, and yet at the same time I did what I needed to do to try to keep up. What ended up happening was that, because I had a credit card, I used it and I maxed it out. It took me years to get out from under that.”
— in Getting into credit card debt and finally getting out of it
Be flexible when you’re looking at colleges
“Students need to be really flexible when they’re exploring colleges. It’s a good idea to apply to a lot of different schools rather than just focusing on one specific school. Students should investigate many schools from the financial perspective, and even have a financial aid ‘safety school,’ just like one has a ‘safety school’ in terms of academics.”
— in Advice for teens: keep your college options open and save money for school
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to save $$$
“This past January, my roommate moved out on me unexpectedly. He didn’t leave money for rent, so I ended up having to come up with extra rent in the two weeks before it was due. I had to make sacrifices. I’m a huge Starbucks fan, and instead of getting lattés, I ended up just drinking straight-up coffee. It was little and it’s crazy to think, but I saved three dollars a day just downgrading my coffee.”
Large student loans can limit your options after college
“I have a friend who did very well, but he had to take out a relatively large private loan. As a result his payments are equivalent to more than a mortgage payment every month. So he’s stuck having to work at a job that he may not prefer to do, whereas he could be buying a house right now. Some of these expenses for education are just tremendous, especially when you have to go into the private loan sector, and I think counterproductive overall to the economy because you could be buying a house or using that money for something else that is more stimulating to the economy instead of paying back the loan company.”
— in Friend with very high student loan payments that seriously restrict his options
Our Picks in Money and Debt
Editor’s Pick: Not having as much money as her classmates
“My family was blue-collar in a white-collar town. My parents worked really hard and did their best, but they had four kids and neither of them had advanced degrees. They did what they could. Even though we were always taken care of and I never wanted for food or clothing or shelter, most of the kids at my very small high school – there were about 60 people in my class – had so much more than I did, and I felt that difference everyday.”
