Comments on: How to Save Money in College

By: The Millennial Money Woman

The Millennial Money Woman — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 11:40:32 +0000

In reply to KJ.

KJ –

I hear you – I feel like these tips were never shared in high school. In fact, I feel like the things that would be super useful in my everyday life (like personal finance) were never taught to us in high school or college (unless you were a finance major – and perhaps not even then).

Good for you for joining the military for a ‘free’ education. You are literally miles ahead of others who took on student debt. And although you may have sacrificed a little in terms of the real college campus experiences – I think in the long-run, the fact that you have $0 student debt is such a great way to jump-start your life.

Imagine having to pay upwards of $800 per month (or more, in many cases) just to repay debt. You’ll likely have to put the regular life milestones on hold just for the sake of repaying your student debt.

Good for you – and keep on going KJ!

Cheers,

Fiona

By: The Millennial Money Woman

The Millennial Money Woman — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 11:34:30 +0000

In reply to Tracy.

Tracy,

I think it’s incredible what you did and how you were able to leverage your earlier years at community college into debt free education down the road.

You’re right when you say that not everyone can do this. But I think that’s, in part, because not everyone is as determined and focused as you were, back at that young age.

I’ve heard it so many times before as well – when I was studying in college: “These are the 4 best years of your life. Why aren’t you having more fun? Stop studying and start partying!”

You may think I’m exaggerating here, but sadly I’m not. It seems like this mentality is pervasive in the college campuses (or at least the campus I went to).

Sometimes, to get ahead of the game, you have to do things that the average person would not typically do (ie. – community college, studying during spring break instead of partying, working full-time while attending university, etc.).

It’s those short-term sacrifices that really put us ahead of the long run.

Thanks for sharing Tracy!

By: The Millennial Money Woman

The Millennial Money Woman — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 11:29:31 +0000

In reply to Papa Foxtrot.

I have a few close friends of mine who actually decided to go the Habitat for Humanity route – and I’ve heard nothing but the best. Without a doubt, this is a great option for those who do want to experience some form of vacation, without the unnecessary costs typically associated with spring break.

In my situation, my college gave us the opportunity to load up on credits during Winter and Spring breaks, so I decided to simply try and get ahead of my required college classes and load up on classes during these weeks off in an effort to graduate earlier.

That certainly helped in terms of cutting costs and cutting paying for the student rent.

By: KJ

KJ — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 08:24:34 +0000

These are some really amazing tips you’ve shared…ones that should be taught in high school! Embracing these small changes (like splitting Netflix costs), definitely adds up throughout the year. I joined the military to get a ‘free’ education and it was the best decision I could have ever made. It came at the ‘cost’ of minimum real college campus experiences, in addition to other sacrifices, but hey I have zero school debt!

By: Papa Foxtrot

Papa Foxtrot — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 16:16:53 +0000

Habitat for Humanity is a great way to use your spring break, and those events usually require little money.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 14:05:02 +0000

I’m another one who did my first two years at a community college and got as many prerequisites out of the way as possible. Then I went off to my in state tuition four year university and made sure to get the bachelors degree in two more years. I also worked at one of the libraries on campus, which was great for getting paid to study during those evening hours. Now I wanted to work at the library because my ultimate goal was to go to library school as soon as I had my bachelors which is what I did and I ended up working at the college library all four of my years there, the extra two years were during my masters program. By the time I was done with school I had an AA, a BA, and an MLIS all debt free because I worked hard and planned well with my parents’ help.

Can everyone do this? NO! But I get so annoyed when people discount going to a 2 year college to get the prerequisites done. I had a better education in smaller class sizes for those first two years than I would have ever received at my four year school in classes of 300+ students working with a TA.

By: The Millennial Money Woman

The Millennial Money Woman — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 18:47:17 +0000

In reply to Megan.

Megan,

Those are awesome tips as well!

Honestly, I could have had a list of probably 80+ tips to save money in college (and another list of ways to make money in college…) but we will have to table those ideas for another time :)

Sometimes you simply have to go to extreme lengths to save money while you’re in college. I seriously admire your hard work and dedication to lower those student costs by all means. Not many people would have this commitment in today’s world. Kudos to you.

And yet, to think that you still emerged with $30,00 of student debt. Incredible. I really and truly believe we need to change something in our college system so that students are not burdened with debt – which can truly impact every other aspect of their lives (delaying family formation, purchasing a home, and hitting other major life milestones).

Keep up the great work and thanks so much for the comment Megan!

Cheers,

Fiona

By: The Millennial Money Woman

The Millennial Money Woman — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 18:40:00 +0000

In reply to JASON BROWN.

Jason,

Thank you so much for the kind words. The cost of college is absolutely staggering, and it seems that it just continues to increase with each additional year.

I’m looking forward to reading your books.

Cheers,

Fiona

By: Megan

Megan — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:58:49 +0000

Don’t forget community college! My parents weren’t in a place to help much financially with college so I did the following:
– attended community college for 2 years while working & living at home
– chose a public state school to finish my bachelor’s degree
– worked all through college at McDonalds (community college and summer break), on a horse farm (community college), a pizza shop, my campus ministry office, as a painter (summer break), as a notetaker, as a driver for a student volunteer group, and as a copy editor for the student newspaper
– did 3 18-credit semesters since at the time 15 credits and 18 credits were the same tuition rate
– didn’t get a meal plan, since I was in an on-campus apartment and could prepare my meals (I did occasionally eat out or in the dining hall)
– rode my bike or walked to class/work/the store when I could the first few years of college
– didn’t get my license until I was about age 21, then drove my parents’ 1994 Chevy Cavalier to my observations and student teaching (education major)
– ate lots of free pizza between the pizza shop & campus ministry events
– the only spring break trip I did was a service trip to New Orleans which only cost a few hundred since we stayed at a church
– bought used books when I could and sold them back to the bookstore if I didn’t think I’d need them (I should have sold everything back)

I still had about $30,000 of student loans when I graduated, but it could have been a lot higher.

By: JASON BROWN

JASON BROWN — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 13:31:51 +0000

Fiona and Joel —

This is fantastic. Great minds think alike! I just wrote an article for a local magazine on the same topic. This is such an important and relevant issue — especially with the soaring costs of colleges. In fact, I’ve been so galvanized by the student loan debt crisis it’s inspired me to write a book to share my story of earning two debt-free degrees along with other people who persevered through similar journeys.

Keep up the great work – both of you!