Cut Your Spending - College

Let's face facts. Most of our population did not save anywhere enough to send their kids to college. Does this make you a terrible parent? No! In fact, we believe that you are a better parent if you do not pay for all or even most of your child's education.

Contrary to what a lot of universities will tell you, they figure that 75% of a freshman class will not last till graduation. Actually, 50% usually drops out by the end of the first year with the other 25% dropping out at a later date. However, this is also how these schools manage to stay in business. That is, if the parents have diligently saved for this or are willing to personally borrow the necessary funds, there is a school that will accept that student no matter what their grades or potential for graduation are. Thus, the school collects the money from students that are only average students and not capable of completing college studies in order to keep the school going. Where does that leave you and your student?

First, if a child is only a C average student, you both need to really consider whether college is going to help. It may help your feelings as a parent so you are not embarrassed telling your friends that your child is not going on to college, but how will it help the student who ends up failing because they cannot handle college level courses? Do you really want the love of your life feeling like a failure? Or do you want them to have a career that they enjoy and can support themselves from? And keep in mind, more than half of the most successful business owners in this country do not have a degree.

If your child is highly motivated to attend college, he will be more than willing to do the necessary paperwork (with a little help from you) to apply for financial aid which should include a government grant, government guaranteed student loans, and work study. If nothing else, we do not feel it is asking too much for a student to spend at least a few hours a week earning his own spending money (which will certainly make him think twice about where he is spending it). However, assuming that you agree to only help in paying for your child's advanced schooling, you can get personal loans to help with tuition. A lot of colleges will even allow you to pay the tuition on a monthly basis if you are willing to sign a contract stating that you are liable to pay the entire tuition even if your student drops out.

As with most things in life, there are a lot of options available when it comes to financing a college education. Do not spend your younger years devoted to saving for a college education that your child may not want or need. Remember that less then 40% of our high school graduates ever actually get a college degree. Also, it is estimated that 2% of high school graduates have already started their own businesses and that number is expected to increase in the future.