The Enmeshment of Money and College

As much as I like to think that I only graduated college a few years ago, the fact of the matter is that it has been over 20 years since I received my Bachelor’s degree. A lot has changed in the past two decades in this world and life in general. One big change since accepting my diploma all those years ago is that I have become a mother and since becoming a mother, I have worried about education for my girls.

I believe education will get you where you need to go and along with real life and social situations, will help you get ahead in life. The foundation starts when you are young and grows from there. But in the past year, my worries have settled on my daughters and their post secondary education or the dreaded money-infused terror word of “college”.

Things have changed since the millennium but one thing that has not is how blooming expensive college is. It is insane. I thought it was quite a bit of money to go to school when I went to a university but looking at the pricing of tuition nowadays gives one serious sticker shock.

And with the sticker shock comes the “how are we going to pay for our kids to go to college” conversation because here’s the thing: I do not want them to take out student loans. If you need to read any horror stories about student loans and interest and people taking decades to pay back 5 figure loans of debt, just spend a few hours googling and you will get the picture. I don’t want my girls graduating with their degree but having crippling amounts of debt while taking an entry-level job in their chosen field. So many young adults start their professional career that way and it is disheartening.

I was in a position that I had relatives who helped me with my tuition so that I did not take out student loans to pay for that part but I still had all the other bills that came along with college life: books, parking permits, car loan for my car because I commuted to school, etc…) and all of this added up very quickly, What I brought home from my part-time job just didn’t cover all my bills and that’s where credit cards came in. I racked up a whole lot of debt by the time I walked across that stage to receive my Bachelor’s degree. It took years to pay off. Debt sucks. It sucks whether the loan is from a credit card company or the federal government. It is all awful.

At the end of the day, it is up to my girls whether or not they actually want to go to college. It is entirely their decision. But if they do, I want to help them in any way that I can. So I am seeing what options are available. I am doing some reading. I am saving up money. One book I read recently which really helped me see how things are in this era of college education and what to do proactively to not go into debt to pay for it was Debt Free Degree by Anthony O’Neal. Such an informative book and it gives you a timeline on when to start looking for scholarships, how to choose the best school for your money and of course saving money for said college. It is never too late to start saving for this expenditure and that is what I am doing, in addition to finally starting a 529 savings plan for my girls.

College and money are definitely intertwined and I am sure I will have a sleepless night here and there thinking about it all. But I know it helps to have a plan and a guide in place so that there are no monetary pitfalls. Or at least lessen the number of them. I think as parents we always want better for our kids, we don’t want them to have to do things the hard way if they don’t have to. Debt keeps you bound to bad decisions and I do not want that for my girls.

So if you need me, I’ll be reading up on scholarships and pinching a few pennies 😉