Most people think they have no alternative but to go into serious debt in other to have a college education. Most start out their working life with student loan debt well into five figures and the increasing cost of college is not helping matters. But the fact is, there are actually several ways of getting a college education without going into debt. The following are ways to have a debt free college education.
Scholarships and grants
Scholarships are not just for students with exceptional performance in high school. Though doing well is the most common way of getting a scholarship, other scholarships are offered based on field of study, minority status or even disability. There are all kinds of scholarships being offered by academic institutions, corporate or charity organizations and religious bodies. Use the internet to find scholarships. You don't have to pay anyone to help you get a scholarship. There are several organizations with free money waiting for you to cover your college fees. A grant is the usually the name given to scholarships that are from the government.
Military
The military can pay for your college degree if you are interested in working for them. If you use this method, you have to spend a few years of your life working for the military and serving the country in return after getting your degree. The disadvantage of this option is that it will hinder your career plans. But it is a good deal for people that admire the military.
Work
If the other options don't work for you then you have to work for your college degree. There are different ways to work and school and still come out with good grades. Get the best job possible. Don't just settle for the first one you find. You might consider developing a special skill that can increase your employment opportunities. I know a college student who taught himself animation and makes money doing freelance work for animation studios. You can work nights, weekends and summers. You also have the choice of taking up full time employment and go to school part-time.
Shorten your stay in college
You can reduce the numbers of years of college education thereby spending less money.
Take college level exams. College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams are an easy way to reduce your college work load. Another way is to take up more workload in college. By taking one or two extra classes each semester, you can actually finish college in three years.
For more ways to live debt free check out the link below
Debt Information Center the internet's No.1 center for free information on debt management and consolidation.
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/how-to-pay-for-school-without-getting-into-a-lot-of-debt-1527938.html
Going to be a college student, opened up an account today.. please help?
So I opened up an account at Wells Fargo today that includes savings, checking, debit, and a college credit card. How do I build up my credit score? My banker told me there is a higher interest for college credit cards, but after making payments on time they will lower it, is this true? Well I'm currently just working as a private tutor for the summer making about $100 a week, and planning on getting a job when I get to Boston. Do you have any advice on handling a credit card and not being irresponsible about it? My parents don't think I can handle it, but I want to show them I can make payments and all. So any advice on college credit cards and the whole deal?
How much should I put in savings and checking? My credit card max is $700 btw.
Answer
Part of how you build credit is by making payment. So buy something with the card - maybe something you need for school or fill your gas tank a few times. Then put the card away and pay off those purchases over a couple month. When you get to school, use the card to buy your books. And again, pay it off over a couple months. Doing this a few times will build credit history and show you are responsible about making payments.
The one thing to avoid is the temptation to treat the credit card as if you have free money to spend - using it to go to the movie, go to lunch, buy a new CD, etc. There's nothing wrong with doing this from time to time, if you do it on a regular basis you'll max your card in no time and that's often when you can start getting into trouble. Been there, done that.
The other thing is to make your payments on time and pay more than the minimum whenever you can. I would recommend using the on-line bill pay to manage as many regular payments as you can - rent, utilities, car payment, insurance, etc. This way you can schedule the payments at your leisure and better manage when you make your payments. Along with this, use direct deposit if your employer offers it. That way you don't have to worry about making it to the bank on time.
As for what to put in savings and what to put in checking. This largely depends on your income and expenses. If your monthly expenses are about the same as your monthly income, then it's going to be difficult to save anything. However, you could dump your money into the savings account and then transfer it to checking when it's time to pay a bill. But if you plan to use your debit card a lot, be very careful because it's easy to forget about a purchase and then wind up overdrawing your account. One or two NSF or overdraw fees can really hurt your budget.
One more thing to consider. I'm assuming the savings account is just a standard savings which gets about 1/4% interest. If you're actually going to be able to save money, I would recommend opening a high interest (often on-line only) savings account. These accounts can pay 3%-4% as long as you're willing to deal with minimal withdraws and do everything on-line. I would even recommend having a savings account at a different bank so it's more of a hassle to move money from savings to checking and therefore you're likely to be more careful about dipping into savings.
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