Today, I will talk about the do's.
1) Work hard. Let me just start with a quote from Thomas Edison: “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” Graduating debt free is most certainly worthwhile, so get to work! If you are serious about living debt free then you've probably already figured out you're going to have to work all through school if you want to graduate debt free unless you have a nice inheritance from someone or a substantial college fund. That was certainly not my case. I worked through school ever since before my wife and I got married in 2007 until I graduated with my Masters of Accountancy in April 2012 except for two months when I had to focus on my biology and chemistry classes so I didn't fail. There is a good reason I didn't become a dentist.
2) Budget! This will be important for the rest of your life if you want to be successful with money. Budgeting isn't keeping track of where your money went, it is telling your money where to go before the month begins. While in school it can be hard because your normal monthly out go is most likely going to be more than your usual monthly inflow, but you still need to PLAN how and where you are going to spend your money during the month. A large amount of our income that tied us over came from tax refunds and grants/scholarships. I will expound on budgeting in a future post.
2) Budget! This will be important for the rest of your life if you want to be successful with money. Budgeting isn't keeping track of where your money went, it is telling your money where to go before the month begins. While in school it can be hard because your normal monthly out go is most likely going to be more than your usual monthly inflow, but you still need to PLAN how and where you are going to spend your money during the month. A large amount of our income that tied us over came from tax refunds and grants/scholarships. I will expound on budgeting in a future post.
Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." That is the essence of the budget, as well as a lot of other areas of life. Your budget is your plan to financial success each month.
3) Apply for government programs that you qualify for such as medicaid, food stamps, Pell grants, and housing subsidies. If you legitimately qualify for any of the above programs why not apply for them so you can successfully make it through your schooling without debt and then turn around and contribute back to those programs by making good money and paying taxes? Let me stress, I think these programs should only be a temporary situation, while you are in school and you are poor. The goal is certainly not to be eligible for these programs for very long.
When I was in my second year of my bachelors program we felt it was time for us to start having children. As we were expecting our first daughter, based on our income my wife qualified for prenatal medicaid and WIC. This was a huge help because once she was enrolled she was able to cancel her other insurance and we had "free" insurance for 8 months. If we would have been paying for private insurance we would have surely had to take out student loans based on the premium costs and the out-of-pocket costs we would have incurred.
Once we had children we also qualified for food stamps at one point because we were under the asset and income limits. This was a huge relief and help because besides rent, food was our biggest monthly expense.
Many people may have their own opinions about using these programs, but if you are serious about getting through school debt free, and you honestly qualify for these programs they can be a huge help in achieve that goal of debt free college.
4) Shop around for insurance. By shopping around for private insurance and not just taking insurance from the University I was attending, we saved over $500 a semester in insurance premiums. We also found good car insurance and would periodically compare other companies we were getting the best deal.
5) Clearly identify the difference between wants and needs. Some examples of needs: food, clothing, shelter, paying tuition, personal hygiene items. Examples of wants: a new couch, an LCD HD TV, a new car, eating out.
6) Be creative! One man's trash is another man's treasure. Be aware that people are moving out every semester and are always getting rid of things. If you help those people move out, a lot of times you can get first dibs on the best items.
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
There are many other small things you can do to be successful in getting through your schooling debt free. These are just a few that were most prevalent for me and my family. Which of these items can you implement today?
Once we had children we also qualified for food stamps at one point because we were under the asset and income limits. This was a huge relief and help because besides rent, food was our biggest monthly expense.
Many people may have their own opinions about using these programs, but if you are serious about getting through school debt free, and you honestly qualify for these programs they can be a huge help in achieve that goal of debt free college.
4) Shop around for insurance. By shopping around for private insurance and not just taking insurance from the University I was attending, we saved over $500 a semester in insurance premiums. We also found good car insurance and would periodically compare other companies we were getting the best deal.
5) Clearly identify the difference between wants and needs. Some examples of needs: food, clothing, shelter, paying tuition, personal hygiene items. Examples of wants: a new couch, an LCD HD TV, a new car, eating out.
6) Be creative! One man's trash is another man's treasure. Be aware that people are moving out every semester and are always getting rid of things. If you help those people move out, a lot of times you can get first dibs on the best items.
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
There are many other small things you can do to be successful in getting through your schooling debt free. These are just a few that were most prevalent for me and my family. Which of these items can you implement today?
