Great article. I agree with most points, but there's a little more that I'd love for potential students to consider.
I went to a two-year college, and after my first semester, I didn't have to pay for it. IMO, there are a few very important pieces of education that everyone should know about NOT paying back a college degree:
1. Volunteer and be involved in college activities. It paves the way for scholarships and gives you something to write about on applications.
2. Often scholarships at community colleges don't get a single application. I've been a recipient of many scholarships, and I've also sat on scholarship committees with no applications for some scholarships. All you have to do is APPLY to get money to help offset school costs.
3. Volunteering opens up paid job opportunities. For me, I was offered a very good paying part-time lab tech job on campus, in my field. That was priceless.
4. When you volunteer and become involved, you network the same way that people believe is only possible at Ivy League colleges. Why was I successful in landing a good job out of college, in IT - an over-saturated field to start? It was because I had a personal recommendation from the President of the college, the Dean of Students, and the Director of the Small Business Development Center. They all appreciated the services I provided to the college. Did I need to get paid for them? Heck no!
5. I never finished my bachelors, though I thought a Ph.D. was the pot-o-gold I needed. I have a great job now with just my associates degree. Sadly, I took out student loans with no bachelors to show for it. It turns out I didn't need it anyways.
---
If you get a good job out that you love out of high school, take it! My first job - in a factory, counting paper - made me really understand where I didn't want to be. The help wanted ads steered me back to school.
In my family, we do it all! I am crafty, I also garden, cook and sew. Almost every curtain, pillow, blanket and slipcover in this house was made by me. I make jam and preserve some of what we grow in our small garden. My husband is a general contractor who has literally rebuilt our home, and our son is awesome with machines and gadgets. He has saved us countless hundreds of dollars by repairing our appliances, computers, and cars. These days, every penny counts, and when you're self employed like my husband is, you can't afford to be wasteful. Our Depression-era parents taught us that!
Since buying the house: replaced exterior door and locks, put new screen in the screen door, replaced exterior lights, remodeled the shower, painting, isulated under the house. Refurbished 3 bicycles with mostly used parts! (2 road bikes and a classic Schwinn tandem) Refinishing the hardwood floors this spring.
This is in reply to Jamie's second comment. I totally agree there needs to be a way for students to refinance their debt. I graduated from grad school two years back and in a good faith effort of wanting to get my payments underway, consolidated my loans and started paying them back immediately. Unfortunately when I consolidated, the rate was double what it is now. If I had only waited a while, I could have locked in a lower interest rate, saving me a lot of money in the long run. I have only federal loans, and have been told the only way to refinance is to take out more loans, and then consolidate them. It seems like there has to be a better way! :(
I DIY for both fun and to save money. I like to make much of my own nut butters and other foods as well as knit and sew many of my own and my family's clothes.
We have painted rooms, furniture, recovered chairs, other upgrades and repairs in our home. Some we do because we enjoy it, but most is because it is cheaper if we do it ourselves.
I took an old and junky night stand and made it slightly better, I sanded it all down, primed it, and painted it. I only used leftover paint from our house walls so I didn't have to buy any extra paint. Of course, I changed my mind four times on the color so I had to repeat the process. Then I found three used knobs from Craigslist and I glued stoppers so the drawers wouldn't go all the way in the stand.
I also tried to stencil it, but...that didn't work, so I had to repaint over that.
I learned a lot and in the end, we have a better piece of furniture.
Over the past year, I've became a huge fan of thrift shopping. I remember one day walking into a newly opened larger thrift store, buying several pairs of very good pants for $6, and becoming absolutely hooked.
Unfortunately, aside from common household items and clothes, the thrift store doesn't really seem much good for anything else. The public library has a far better selection with books for sale and much cheaper ($0.25-$1.00 vs $4-$7 at thrift store) not to mention lending books for free. Furniture/home electronics/etc seem to be generally cheaper on Craigslist.
It might be easier if there is some method for finding good thrift stores, but the only way I've seen seem to be read the small amount of reviews available, pay a visit, and pray. Still, the fact that clothes and common household items are so cheap pretty much guarantee I'll be going there from now on.
I have to disagree on shoes, I don't want anyone else's foot problems to become mine. Feet mold the shoes they are in and each foot is different. Maybe if they were brand new with the original store tags still on them maybe but buying some else's ill fitting shoes can be more costly (and painful) in the long run.
I cook and bake as much as possible, do a lot of craft projects and mend our clothes at home.
For all of this, Pinterest has been an amazing way for me to keep track of projects I want to try, home keeping tips that make things easier, recipes that worked for me and recipes that I want to try. I love it!
I always paint and I re-finish old beat up furniture (preferably picked up on the street). I also make homemade greeting and business cards, pickle, and occasionally make jam.
We try to do all our own home improvement and car repairs, as long as they are not too complicated, to save money. We've hired plumbers, electricians and mechanics when we know we're in over our heads.
My husband and I love DIY. From painting the walls to creating kitchen cupboard worktops. Our most recent DIY was purchasing some floor style cabinets for our kitchen, lining them up in a bank of 3 and creating a tiled counter top. It really enhanced the useable space and created a better work area for the cooking area of kitchen; providing a separate area for the eat in area. We also bought flooring on sale and put in a floating kitchen floor, which really made a WOW! factor. So no more ugly old white linoleum but a look of warm wood. :)
I DIY almost everything I can, but mainly bags and other items I would otherwise buy. When my husband is home he does all of the fixing stuff around the house as well.
Things I've been able to achieve by living below my means:
- quitting a job that took a wrecking ball to my health and sanity
- NOT being the scary statistic of the 50% or so who can't come up with $1-2k w/i 30 days (yikes!!!)
- NEVER having to ask my parents or anyone else for money (post-college, at least)
- making healthcare decisions based on what is best for me, not what is cheapest ($700 out-of-pocket for an iud? best money I ever spent!)
- enjoying 8 days in Barbados with a dear friend - paid for in cash
- easily affording the plane ticket to attend my best friend's semi-impromptu wedding on the other side of the country
- take unpaid time off without affecting my budget (budgeting off of two biweekly paychecks/month=2 'extra' paychecks or 4 weeks of time/year) so I'm not limited to the scant 2 weeks of PTO my employer offers
- not just financial security, but actual security: it's easier to leave a relationship (or any other living situation) that turns bad when you aren't dependent on that person for your basic needs. This is a major step in breaking the chain of domestic violence that is sadly a lifetime struggle for many ON TOP OF the struggles of poverty itself
LP records. Got a turntable? Does it still work? Like the old stuff? You're in luck. I would occasionally go in and pick up a dozen or more classic rock albums in decent condition for a buck (or less) apiece. I even have a setup on an old computer in the attic where I can rip them to MP3. My iPod runneth over.
Thankfully I am married to a carpenter, so we do all our own home improvements. Recently, we have found out how to save money on car repairs by watching youtube videos. You can find out how to do anything on youtube!
Besides cooking at home, I garden and can. I do small repairs, like rewire lamps and replace wall sockets and ceiling fixtures. I do scrap quilts. Mend. We paint walls and do small furniture fixes. We replaced a dryer belt and an overflow bulb on the washer. As we don't own our home, the bigger projects are covered by others. Part of it is the bottom line, but part of it is conquering a skill set and knowing the final product is better than you could have paid the same price for.
Indeed, it just makes me really nervous when we write off the difficulties still encountered even with a 'lucrative' STEM degree (at any level). I ended up with 5 figures in debt, but that number was about 1/2 my starting salary, and as such is quite manageable. I'd love to see some sort of federally backed program for refinancing student loans. That way no one's "off the hook," but a lot of us could either pay off the loans a lot faster or use the difference in monthly payments to shore up financially a bit.
My husband does oil changes sometimes. We paint ourselves, do minor household repairs, garden, cook and bake, care for our yard, and occasionally do craft projects.
I don't have a favourite DIY project, but whenever I am faced with a project, before I go out and buy what I need, or phone someone to do it, I think about what I have at home that I can re-purpose for that project. I will also search the internet for DIY instructions - lots of inspiration there! I also learned to sew while in elementary school so any sewing projects I can usually handle-repairing clothes, re-heming pants or skirts, sewing on buttons, etc. I am incredibly cheap (pardon, FRUGAL) so I will source out what I need first and buy if I absolutely have to and that is after I have checked out all prices online first. There are some things that I always leave to experts, and that is major electrical work and plumbing work because if I did it, or my husband or sons, it always costs more money to have someone else fix it. ( I speak from experience). My sons made me some incredible raised vegetable beds using used patio stones someone was giving away so I grow alot of our own vegetables and can, freeze and/or dry them for storage. I cook alot from scratch and use homemade DIY mixes as I am on a limited diet. Also rather than buy commercial household cleaners, I make my own from recipes gleaned from the internet. There's lots of interesting DIY projects on the internet that other people with more imagination than myself have done and posted - some of them right here on Wise Bread!
Great article. I agree with most points, but there's a little more that I'd love for potential students to consider.
I went to a two-year college, and after my first semester, I didn't have to pay for it. IMO, there are a few very important pieces of education that everyone should know about NOT paying back a college degree:
1. Volunteer and be involved in college activities. It paves the way for scholarships and gives you something to write about on applications.
2. Often scholarships at community colleges don't get a single application. I've been a recipient of many scholarships, and I've also sat on scholarship committees with no applications for some scholarships. All you have to do is APPLY to get money to help offset school costs.
3. Volunteering opens up paid job opportunities. For me, I was offered a very good paying part-time lab tech job on campus, in my field. That was priceless.
4. When you volunteer and become involved, you network the same way that people believe is only possible at Ivy League colleges. Why was I successful in landing a good job out of college, in IT - an over-saturated field to start? It was because I had a personal recommendation from the President of the college, the Dean of Students, and the Director of the Small Business Development Center. They all appreciated the services I provided to the college. Did I need to get paid for them? Heck no!
5. I never finished my bachelors, though I thought a Ph.D. was the pot-o-gold I needed. I have a great job now with just my associates degree. Sadly, I took out student loans with no bachelors to show for it. It turns out I didn't need it anyways.
---
If you get a good job out that you love out of high school, take it! My first job - in a factory, counting paper - made me really understand where I didn't want to be. The help wanted ads steered me back to school.
In my family, we do it all! I am crafty, I also garden, cook and sew. Almost every curtain, pillow, blanket and slipcover in this house was made by me. I make jam and preserve some of what we grow in our small garden. My husband is a general contractor who has literally rebuilt our home, and our son is awesome with machines and gadgets. He has saved us countless hundreds of dollars by repairing our appliances, computers, and cars. These days, every penny counts, and when you're self employed like my husband is, you can't afford to be wasteful. Our Depression-era parents taught us that!
Since buying the house: replaced exterior door and locks, put new screen in the screen door, replaced exterior lights, remodeled the shower, painting, isulated under the house. Refurbished 3 bicycles with mostly used parts! (2 road bikes and a classic Schwinn tandem) Refinishing the hardwood floors this spring.
This is in reply to Jamie's second comment. I totally agree there needs to be a way for students to refinance their debt. I graduated from grad school two years back and in a good faith effort of wanting to get my payments underway, consolidated my loans and started paying them back immediately. Unfortunately when I consolidated, the rate was double what it is now. If I had only waited a while, I could have locked in a lower interest rate, saving me a lot of money in the long run. I have only federal loans, and have been told the only way to refinance is to take out more loans, and then consolidate them. It seems like there has to be a better way! :(
I DIY for both fun and to save money. I like to make much of my own nut butters and other foods as well as knit and sew many of my own and my family's clothes.
We have painted rooms, furniture, recovered chairs, other upgrades and repairs in our home. Some we do because we enjoy it, but most is because it is cheaper if we do it ourselves.
I took an old and junky night stand and made it slightly better, I sanded it all down, primed it, and painted it. I only used leftover paint from our house walls so I didn't have to buy any extra paint. Of course, I changed my mind four times on the color so I had to repeat the process. Then I found three used knobs from Craigslist and I glued stoppers so the drawers wouldn't go all the way in the stand.
I also tried to stencil it, but...that didn't work, so I had to repaint over that.
I learned a lot and in the end, we have a better piece of furniture.
Over the past year, I've became a huge fan of thrift shopping. I remember one day walking into a newly opened larger thrift store, buying several pairs of very good pants for $6, and becoming absolutely hooked.
Unfortunately, aside from common household items and clothes, the thrift store doesn't really seem much good for anything else. The public library has a far better selection with books for sale and much cheaper ($0.25-$1.00 vs $4-$7 at thrift store) not to mention lending books for free. Furniture/home electronics/etc seem to be generally cheaper on Craigslist.
It might be easier if there is some method for finding good thrift stores, but the only way I've seen seem to be read the small amount of reviews available, pay a visit, and pray. Still, the fact that clothes and common household items are so cheap pretty much guarantee I'll be going there from now on.
I DIY gifts...might not always turn out exactly how I wanted but I try.
I have to disagree on shoes, I don't want anyone else's foot problems to become mine. Feet mold the shoes they are in and each foot is different. Maybe if they were brand new with the original store tags still on them maybe but buying some else's ill fitting shoes can be more costly (and painful) in the long run.
I love making my own homemade facial scrubs for exfoliating!
I cook and bake as much as possible, do a lot of craft projects and mend our clothes at home.
For all of this, Pinterest has been an amazing way for me to keep track of projects I want to try, home keeping tips that make things easier, recipes that worked for me and recipes that I want to try. I love it!
I always paint and I re-finish old beat up furniture (preferably picked up on the street). I also make homemade greeting and business cards, pickle, and occasionally make jam.
We try to do all our own home improvement and car repairs, as long as they are not too complicated, to save money. We've hired plumbers, electricians and mechanics when we know we're in over our heads.
My husband and I love DIY. From painting the walls to creating kitchen cupboard worktops. Our most recent DIY was purchasing some floor style cabinets for our kitchen, lining them up in a bank of 3 and creating a tiled counter top. It really enhanced the useable space and created a better work area for the cooking area of kitchen; providing a separate area for the eat in area. We also bought flooring on sale and put in a floating kitchen floor, which really made a WOW! factor. So no more ugly old white linoleum but a look of warm wood. :)
I DIY almost everything I can, but mainly bags and other items I would otherwise buy. When my husband is home he does all of the fixing stuff around the house as well.
Things I've been able to achieve by living below my means:
- quitting a job that took a wrecking ball to my health and sanity
- NOT being the scary statistic of the 50% or so who can't come up with $1-2k w/i 30 days (yikes!!!)
- NEVER having to ask my parents or anyone else for money (post-college, at least)
- making healthcare decisions based on what is best for me, not what is cheapest ($700 out-of-pocket for an iud? best money I ever spent!)
- enjoying 8 days in Barbados with a dear friend - paid for in cash
- easily affording the plane ticket to attend my best friend's semi-impromptu wedding on the other side of the country
- take unpaid time off without affecting my budget (budgeting off of two biweekly paychecks/month=2 'extra' paychecks or 4 weeks of time/year) so I'm not limited to the scant 2 weeks of PTO my employer offers
- not just financial security, but actual security: it's easier to leave a relationship (or any other living situation) that turns bad when you aren't dependent on that person for your basic needs. This is a major step in breaking the chain of domestic violence that is sadly a lifetime struggle for many ON TOP OF the struggles of poverty itself
Used furniture - eww. Same story at ours. That and you need to be able to haul it away yourself.
LP records. Got a turntable? Does it still work? Like the old stuff? You're in luck. I would occasionally go in and pick up a dozen or more classic rock albums in decent condition for a buck (or less) apiece. I even have a setup on an old computer in the attic where I can rip them to MP3. My iPod runneth over.
Thankfully I am married to a carpenter, so we do all our own home improvements. Recently, we have found out how to save money on car repairs by watching youtube videos. You can find out how to do anything on youtube!
Besides cooking at home, I garden and can. I do small repairs, like rewire lamps and replace wall sockets and ceiling fixtures. I do scrap quilts. Mend. We paint walls and do small furniture fixes. We replaced a dryer belt and an overflow bulb on the washer. As we don't own our home, the bigger projects are covered by others. Part of it is the bottom line, but part of it is conquering a skill set and knowing the final product is better than you could have paid the same price for.
Indeed, it just makes me really nervous when we write off the difficulties still encountered even with a 'lucrative' STEM degree (at any level). I ended up with 5 figures in debt, but that number was about 1/2 my starting salary, and as such is quite manageable. I'd love to see some sort of federally backed program for refinancing student loans. That way no one's "off the hook," but a lot of us could either pay off the loans a lot faster or use the difference in monthly payments to shore up financially a bit.
My husband does oil changes sometimes. We paint ourselves, do minor household repairs, garden, cook and bake, care for our yard, and occasionally do craft projects.
I don't have a favourite DIY project, but whenever I am faced with a project, before I go out and buy what I need, or phone someone to do it, I think about what I have at home that I can re-purpose for that project. I will also search the internet for DIY instructions - lots of inspiration there! I also learned to sew while in elementary school so any sewing projects I can usually handle-repairing clothes, re-heming pants or skirts, sewing on buttons, etc. I am incredibly cheap (pardon, FRUGAL) so I will source out what I need first and buy if I absolutely have to and that is after I have checked out all prices online first. There are some things that I always leave to experts, and that is major electrical work and plumbing work because if I did it, or my husband or sons, it always costs more money to have someone else fix it. ( I speak from experience). My sons made me some incredible raised vegetable beds using used patio stones someone was giving away so I grow alot of our own vegetables and can, freeze and/or dry them for storage. I cook alot from scratch and use homemade DIY mixes as I am on a limited diet. Also rather than buy commercial household cleaners, I make my own from recipes gleaned from the internet. There's lots of interesting DIY projects on the internet that other people with more imagination than myself have done and posted - some of them right here on Wise Bread!
Hummus, chicken stock, bread, household repairs, sewing repairs, and all lunches for work :)