University is a guaranteed way to go into debt. What an education that is!!!
Learning how to get out of debt teaches us real world problem solving. It is a problem facing the entire world, some worse then others. And there are solutions.
Some solutions are proactive. Don't go to university until/unless you can afford it. I know this is contrary to everything most of us have learned. This same advice applies to saving up for a car before you buy one. Or a house. or what ever big purchase. Avoid the bank, and other lenders/loan sharks whenever possible.
Of course not everyone can or wants to be proactive. That's why there are reactive solutions as well. They're just never going to be as effective.Going into debt means having to crawl out of debt. It's the same pace as saving up but you get to put the cart before the horse. Most cars are rear wheeled drive for a reason, not necessarily a good reason.
If you take out a loan for education you expect to have higher income upon graduation. This means you can pay off tuition faster then you would have, if you saved up on an uneducated person's wage. But then there's generally interest applied to the loan (some student loans are interest free, at least for a set period of time). This assumes of course that you got a high salary upon graduation. Many graduates either can't find a job or settle for lower wages then they had been taught to expect.
Most graduates have colleagues in the same boat. Those with the same degree have similar education, similar mindset, and similar knowledge of the way things are done. So they have resumes. They apply for jobs. They compete like lemmings after then same few jobs. It works out for some. Works out for a while anyway. And for many others it doesn't work out as planned. That fallback plan of working with dad at the factory wasn't much of a safety net because the factory closed.
Seize the Day is probably the best advice to give a person. Especially for a young person. Take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves. Before you get old, before you get sick, before your loved ones pass away, do what you can as soon as you can. I don't know if buying a house, a car and an education is the best thing you can do before you can afford it is exactly seizing the day. Maybe it is. I would rather you go back packing across Europe and the Americas while your knees still bounce. I would rather you fall in and out of love before you become bitter with loss. I would rather you earn the full cost of your degree before you have a sense of entitlement to it.
Learning how to get out of debt teaches us real world problem solving. It is a problem facing the entire world, some worse then others. And there are solutions.
Some solutions are proactive. Don't go to university until/unless you can afford it. I know this is contrary to everything most of us have learned. This same advice applies to saving up for a car before you buy one. Or a house. or what ever big purchase. Avoid the bank, and other lenders/loan sharks whenever possible.
Of course not everyone can or wants to be proactive. That's why there are reactive solutions as well. They're just never going to be as effective.Going into debt means having to crawl out of debt. It's the same pace as saving up but you get to put the cart before the horse. Most cars are rear wheeled drive for a reason, not necessarily a good reason.
If you take out a loan for education you expect to have higher income upon graduation. This means you can pay off tuition faster then you would have, if you saved up on an uneducated person's wage. But then there's generally interest applied to the loan (some student loans are interest free, at least for a set period of time). This assumes of course that you got a high salary upon graduation. Many graduates either can't find a job or settle for lower wages then they had been taught to expect.
Most graduates have colleagues in the same boat. Those with the same degree have similar education, similar mindset, and similar knowledge of the way things are done. So they have resumes. They apply for jobs. They compete like lemmings after then same few jobs. It works out for some. Works out for a while anyway. And for many others it doesn't work out as planned. That fallback plan of working with dad at the factory wasn't much of a safety net because the factory closed.
Seize the Day is probably the best advice to give a person. Especially for a young person. Take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves. Before you get old, before you get sick, before your loved ones pass away, do what you can as soon as you can. I don't know if buying a house, a car and an education is the best thing you can do before you can afford it is exactly seizing the day. Maybe it is. I would rather you go back packing across Europe and the Americas while your knees still bounce. I would rather you fall in and out of love before you become bitter with loss. I would rather you earn the full cost of your degree before you have a sense of entitlement to it.
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