Myth: Student loans are inevitable
With the tuition for most schools rising more than ever due to inflation, more and more college students are taking out at least a few loans to fund their education. When they do, they end up spending a good part of their lives paying them off. They live with a lot of consequences such as living paycheck to paycheck.
Why Loans Are Not Inevitable
We at Clay Advisors are here to assure you that there are other ways. Living and coming to the U.S. has long been about fulfilling dreams. Nothing should stop you from fulfilling yours. Below, we lost some ways that you can fulfill your dreams without having to turn yourself to you finances for the rest of your life.
Grants
Grants are funds that don’t need to be paid back. They are based on personal need. Some are also specific careers such as teaching or engineering. According to the last research, billions of dollars of grants go unclaimed every year so now is an ideal time to take advantage of them.
Scholarships
Scholarships no longer cover everything. But the good news is that you don’t have to have a perfect GPA to get one. You also don’t have to come from a low income family to get one. They can be awarded for just about anything.
Cash Awards
Cash awards are more common for upperclassmen. They are typically awarded from their associations or organizations. They can be awarded for any hobby or passion, such as horses or videogames. You can also earn them by volunteering.
You Can Make Money-Not a Full-Time Job
Working a full-time job while taking classes is very stressful because it gives you even less time to study. Luckily, there are ways around that. A work-study job on campus is the most popular. You can also drive for Uber, write for online publications, tutor, housesit, babysit, pet sit, host your place on Airbnb, or sell old belongings that you no longer have any use for.
Crowdfunding
GoFundMe is the most popular crowdfunding site. If you have family, friends, etc. who would like to pitch in, you can take advantage of it. However, check to see whether your platform takes a percentage of the donations and whether they’re taxable.
Get Used Textbooks if Possible
If you’re planning to keep your textbooks, used ones tend to cost a fraction of what the new ones do. However, if you’re taking a subject that is not within your interests, you might be better off renting those. That can be up to over 70 percent less than buying it.
Conclusion
While this is not an exhaustive list, we at Clay Advisors are here to assure you that it is possible to get through college debt-free. One thing that we encourage you to do is to start a college fund as early as possible. This can go for both the parents and the kids as parents can start saving as soon as the child is born. Then, unless the child does something like mow lawns or babysit, the child can get his or her first official job at the age of 16
