B-Large Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Ah, the Student Loan- one of my favorite monthly payments.... The financing of college education baffles me, a couples of random thoughts: 1. Why would students who watch their mother and father struggle for money and worry about their finances, primarily debt, we so willing to take out debt that will eat up 500-1000/ mo. of thier income when they graduate? 2. Why would parents, in the right mind, ever encourage their kids to rack up huge debt on any degree path does not equate to Lawyer, Doctor, Accountant, Vet? 200K for a Liberals Art Degree, jesus, are you kidding me. 3. Payscales have been stagnant for 20 years, costs have risen sharply espcially in relation to housing... why would you pay more for a degree thinking you will be different and get generous pay with no skills and experience? 4. What jobs do you really need a college education for? Most jobs you can learn on the job, it is more about your attitude, willingness to learn and work ethic.... I can't believe the degree requirements for my job, MBA and years of expereince... seriosuly, it is 95% common sense, 5% work ethic. 5. We need to do a better job of educating our kids about Finance, Borrowing and the appropriate use of Credit. Why now all of the sudden, do we feel we don't have pay back the money we borrowed? People feel like the country is being wronged by lenders and banks, and in some sense they are right.... but the BIGGEST problems is people sending their stupid, naive kids into the world unprepared to deal with the easy money loans sharks... then they want to whine when it goes bad. We have 75K left on our student loans and I will write a check for that amount this year. How did I do that you ask? I saved up the money by sticking to a detailed budget and saved the money.... I made the borrowed the money because I was that kid who believed the private college was a golden path as did my parents... we were wrong, it was mostly wastful... but I will made good on my commitments. ***A friend of my mind tells me all the time they will need to save 1 million dollars for their 2 kids to go to college, because they need to go the best schools possible.... I suggested maybe they use 900K of the money, buy 2 apartments buildings that produce some cash flow so the kids will have something tangible, stable that produces cash flow for the rest of their lives.... She looks at me like I have horns on my head.. I said, why not, they can go to a State School, take on a little school debt (that I think builds character when you repay) and probably end up in the same place, same job.... she does not like my suggestion... oh well.... I am not signing an petition. Pay your debts, you will feel good about yourself for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 5. We need to do a better job of educating our kids about Finance, Borrowing and the appropriate use of Credit. Why now all of the sudden, do we feel we don't have pay back the money we borrowed? People feel like the country is being wronged by lenders and banks, and in some sense they are right.... but the BIGGEST problems is people sending their stupid, naive kids into the world unprepared to deal with the easy money loans sharks... then they want to whine when it goes bad. What are you, insane? How do you expect our "public servants" in Congress to keep stealing billions from their constituents if we have a populous that understands finances better than the average six year old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Large Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 (edited) What are you, insane? How do you expect our "public servants" in Congress to keep stealing billions from their constituents if we have a populous that understands finances better than the average six year old? On second thought, bad idea. A reltively finacially stupid populus is the best thing that has ever happened to congress, and their cronies. Seriously, we need to open the "Derek Zoolander school for Americans people who don't understand Financial Priciples good" The things people do with money, seriosuly KD, I CRINGE PS- pay your student loans and drink your Ovaltine Edited March 23, 2012 by B-Large Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 While I wouldn't reject the money (Heck, it would help me a lot!), I would prefer to help those in the current generation who belong in college, if such a choice was to be made. I pretty much knew what I was getting into..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Ah, the Student Loan- one of my favorite monthly payments.... The financing of college education baffles me, a couples of random thoughts: 1. Why would students who watch their mother and father struggle for money and worry about their finances, primarily debt, we so willing to take out debt that will eat up 500-1000/ mo. of thier income when they graduate? 2. Why would parents, in the right mind, ever encourage their kids to rack up huge debt on any degree path does not equate to Lawyer, Doctor, Accountant, Vet? 200K for a Liberals Art Degree, jesus, are you kidding me. 3. Payscales have been stagnant for 20 years, costs have risen sharply espcially in relation to housing... why would you pay more for a degree thinking you will be different and get generous pay with no skills and experience? 4. What jobs do you really need a college education for? Most jobs you can learn on the job, it is more about your attitude, willingness to learn and work ethic.... I can't believe the degree requirements for my job, MBA and years of expereince... seriosuly, it is 95% common sense, 5% work ethic. 5. We need to do a better job of educating our kids about Finance, Borrowing and the appropriate use of Credit. Why now all of the sudden, do we feel we don't have pay back the money we borrowed? People feel like the country is being wronged by lenders and banks, and in some sense they are right.... but the BIGGEST problems is people sending their stupid, naive kids into the world unprepared to deal with the easy money loans sharks... then they want to whine when it goes bad. We have 75K left on our student loans and I will write a check for that amount this year. How did I do that you ask? I saved up the money by sticking to a detailed budget and saved the money.... I made the borrowed the money because I was that kid who believed the private college was a golden path as did my parents... we were wrong, it was mostly wastful... but I will made good on my commitments. ***A friend of my mind tells me all the time they will need to save 1 million dollars for their 2 kids to go to college, because they need to go the best schools possible.... I suggested maybe they use 900K of the money, buy 2 apartments buildings that produce some cash flow so the kids will have something tangible, stable that produces cash flow for the rest of their lives.... She looks at me like I have horns on my head.. I said, why not, they can go to a State School, take on a little school debt (that I think builds character when you repay) and probably end up in the same place, same job.... she does not like my suggestion... oh well.... I am not signing an petition. Pay your debts, you will feel good about yourself for it I can speak for at least some lawyers when I say that the "law degree" is far from a certain path to financial success. A fair amount of my law school (which up until very recently was a Top 25 program) was still unemployed. I'm talking Law Review students....unemployed. It's like anything else....success draws interest, interest saturates markets. Thats why people who rail against "useless" degrees are missing the point. Every degree has a job market...those markets ebb and flow depending on all sorts of factors. No degree is inherently useless....especially in a working world where, often, concentration is sort of irrelevant. What gets me is the number of "unimpressive" schools that still charge rates similar to the more established school. Law schools that charge people 35k in tuition and find themselves at the bottom of the law school rankings are ripping people off something fierce.... The fact is, the student loan problem is a simple rent seeking issue. I fully support government efforts to provide low interest rate, highly reliable loans to the populace....and educated populace is an incredibly compelling government interest. What I don't support is government's hands off approach to higher education cost control. As rates have escalated for tuition and service fees, no one has done anything. Look at the endowments schools like Harvard and Yale have. They could afford to give all of their entering freshmen free rides on the interest alone. There needs to be substantial steps to reclassify schools as not for profits with strict limitations on their services and expenditures. They are essentially serving a public function...they should be treated accordingly. Edited March 24, 2012 by DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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