How To Avoid College Debt

How to avoid college debt: 9 ways to avoid college debt altogether. Paying off debt is an accomplishment, but avoiding it completely is better.

I finally paid off my student loan debt and my financial situation has never been better.

Consequently, I have extra money in my budget that I don’t even know what to do with.

Just joking, I plan to invest more.

Although paying off my student loan debt was a major accomplishment, it would have been better to avoid it altogether. 

I didn’t receive any financial help from parents, so it took years to pay it off.

In this post, I will show you how to avoid college debt so you don’t have to be bogged down with payments.

Let dive right in.

How To Avoid College Debt

How To Avoid College Debt

1. Don’t Go To School

If you don’t go to school, you will never have student loan debt. It’s that simple.

Of course, you may be limiting your future income.

But if you are smart with saving and investing when you are young, it’s possible to put yourself in a good enough position to not even need a high paying job. You might be able to reach financial independence at a young age instead.

2. Get Experience Instead Of School

Furthermore, experience is a better teacher than education anyways. Especially with the current state of the education system. 

If you get a job at a company with advancement opportunities, you might be able to climb the corporate ladder without acquiring $40,000 worth of student loan debt.

3. Work While You Are In School

Instead of using all your free time to party, you could find a high paying part-time job in your free time to help pay for school.

Yes, day-to-day life will be exhausting while you are young. But at that age, you have the most energy you will ever have in your life.

I wish I worked while I was in school instead of using my free time to party.

It would have helped me gain experience, and I would have avoided racking up student loan debt.

4. Take Certificates And Night Courses 

For a much lower cost, consider taking night courses while you work full-time to educate yourself.

Alternatively, study on the weekend to get certificates. Depending on what you study, you might even be able to get your employer to pay for your education.

Everyone has a diploma or degree nowadays. It’s no longer a way to differentiate yourself.

But you might be able to differentiate yourself with a multitude of certificates and extra courses.

5. Save Up Before You Go To School

Rather than going straight from high school to college or university, you could opt to work for 5 years to save up for school instead.

This way, you could avoid paying interest on student loan debt. 

Additionally, you might value your education more and it could force you to work harder, because you are putting up your hard-earned money.

6. Live At Home With Your Parents

Although I think it is a good idea to move out of your parents’ house as soon as possible, living at home while in school is an excellent way to save money. 

If I could do it again, I would have stayed home and banked money for as long as possible.

I wouldn’t have been so eager to start wasting money on rent.

7. Study Hard In High School To Get Scholarships

If you are the academic type, take school seriously so you can apply for scholarships. 

That way, you can get most of your education paid for you.

If you are an athlete, try to get an athletic scholarship.

8. Apply For Grants

Even if you’re not an academic or naturally-gifted athlete, you may qualify for grants.

So, keep an eye out for grants and bursaries that you might qualify for.

When I was in college, I was fortunate to qualify for a bursary worth $1,500. 

You don’t want to just assume you won’t be able to qualify. It never hurts to apply and see what happens.

9. Choose a Less Expensive School

For certain careers, such as becoming a lawyer or Doctor, a prestigious school might make a difference. 

But if you’re just going to end up as some middle manager at a bank, who cares what school you go to. You don’t need a pretentious prestigious school.

As long as they provide a quality education that you can put it on your resume, the cheapest option is the school to go with.

How To Avoid College Debt – Final Thoughts

Now you understand how to avoid college debt.

Of course, paying off your student loan debt is a major accomplishment. 

But avoiding it altogether is even better.

By avoiding student loan debt in the first place, you can increase your cash flow in the early years of your career.

If you use that extra cash flow to invest, you can start earning interest instead of paying interest.

If financial independence is what you are seeking, avoiding college debt might be the way to go.

Related Articles On Personal Finance and Student Debt

Student Loan Debt: (11) Practical Ways To Quickly Pay It Off

 am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post may contain advertisements by Monumetric. This post may also contain internal links, affiliate links to BizBudding, Amazon, Bluehost, and Questrade, links to trusted external sites, and links to RTC social media accounts.

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