Prospective college students: this is for you. The choices you make on funding your college will impact your life for years to come. Sure, you can take the easy path and borrow the money. But I challenge you to be different: make sacrifices and avoid the debt. No College Savings? You can still do it.
If you accept this challenge, you will be celebrating a debt free diploma. If you ignore it, you will be starting your career burdened by accumulated debt.
Accept the challenge. It won’t be easy, but you can do it. These tips will help.
1. Decide now to avoid debt.
Once you draw the line in the sand, you will figure out how to do it. Without this commitment, you will drift into debt.
Nineteen percent of bankruptcies in the United States are filed by young people age 24 and under. The culprit? Credit card debt.
2. Don’t go.
I know. This column is about graduating without debt. But what if you just aren’t ready to start right now? You should consider working and saving and learning about life. If you later choose to go to college, you will have more purpose, be more motivated, and have a college nest egg.
3. Say “no” to credit card offers.
Once on campus, you will be enticed with free T-shirt offers and free pizza for filling out a credit card application. Don’t do it, even if you don’t plan to use the card.
Nineteen percent of bankruptcies in the United States are filed by young people age 24 and under . The biggest culprit? Credit card debt. There is a 100% chance that you won’t create credit card debt if you don’t own a credit card.
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