How To Go To College (Without The Debt)
Last updated 6 months ago
Even in today’s tough economy, it’s easy for students to borrow the money they need for college. But if you want to avoid graduating with an unmanageable amount of debt, then it’s important to be smart about your finances. Here are a few tips for attending college without going deep into debt:
- Limit Reliance on Private Loans – When shopping around for student loans, try to limit the amount you borrow from private institutions. Unlike federally-funded student loans, privatized loans have variable interest rates. No one knows what the financial landscape will be like in four or five years, so don’t risk being stuck with thousands and thousands of dollars in high-interest private student loan debt.
- Determine How Much Should You Borrow – As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t borrow more in total student loans than you expect to make your first year out of school. If you plan to pay about $12 per month for every $1,000 of federal student loans you borrow, then you can get a clearer picture of how much you can afford to borrow. While this doesn’t work for all students, it should prevent most from overburdening themselves with debt.
- Begin Saving Early – While you are in school, your full-time job is being a student. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot or should not take up a part-time job on the side. Not only is this a great way to increase the amount of spending money you have for books, food, and housing costs, but you can also begin to save money toward paying off your expensive student loans.
Attending college is one of the most important decisions that you can make for yourself. If you’re worried about the cost, then remember that there are financial institutions and federal programs available to make the dream of attending college a reality.
