Comments on: Student Debt

By: When I get out of school I’ll be making 50k a year and all my debt will be paid off in 3 months… WRONG | Twenty Answers

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:10:59 +0000

[...] Personal Finance Blog has a post about student debt as well. (No Ratings Yet) Loading [...]

By: bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:20:42 +0000

Sneaky, but effective methodology.

By: Gord

Gord — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:06:32 +0000

I got the student loans and only worked f.t in summer.
Now 10 years after graduating and only three months left till student loans are paid off and having two kids I have formulated the following ideas:
- I am going to let my kids get student loans and/or provide a set loan if they don’t qualify for Student loans.
- I won’t tell them, but after they completed school, I will pay off their loan’s for them. Thus they believe the whole time they are spending “their money”, in hopes to help them learn about budgeting etc.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:31:03 +0000

I put myself through university, including paying rent (I have some friends who say they did the same thing but lived at home, which I don’t really consider it) and am proud as hell that I did, and worked part-time during the year and full-time during the summer, and still went out and partied etc. However, for my son, my wife have made a deal that we will pay for their education to the best of our abilities — while we do contribute to his resp we also contribute to our rrsp’s, but if there’s a conflict - well, there aren’t any student loans for retirement available. Our deal is that we will pay for his education, but if he wants to a far away school (we live in Toronto so he has choices of university) he has to pay his rent, etc himself. Otherwise he can live at home, with the expectation that after graduating he’s out on his own. I want him to appreciate how important money is, but don’t want him to be burdened with a huge debt load on graduation day either.

By: This and That

This and That — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:05:28 +0000

[...] Canadian Financial Stuff debated the pros and cons of having kids paying for their education. [...]

By: twentyanswers.com

twentyanswers.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:49:11 +0000

My biggest problem with my debt from university was the misconception that paying off that debt would be very very easy. I’ll be making 50k when I graduate, I just won’t spend any money for 3 months, and that 20k I owe will be paid off just like that..

well i got the 50k/yr job right out of university, but the 25k that I owed took almost 2 years to pay off in full, and it wasn’t fun.

By: Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » Random Thoughts

Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » Random Thoughts — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:46:09 +0000

[...] Student Debt starts with an introduction of the problem or the discussion point as I saw it. [...]

By: nancy (aka money coach)

nancy (aka money coach) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:19:27 +0000

I went to university in my early 20s, used up my (in retrospect, meagre) savings, got a student loan, and worked 15 - 20 hours a week. I was driven, got the A’s but it wasn’t nearly the experience it could have been if I had been funded. Then I graduated with a debt that took 10 long years to pay off, and significantly hampered my ability to get ahead (and most readers know the effect of compound interest = opportunity cost for me). I land fully in the latter camp. Even if the students do party more … for the portion (and I bet it’s sizeable) who will do better in university knowing at least their basics are met, and start life debt free .. that’s something I’d lobby for at a political level.

By: sow

sow — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:30:47 +0000

We don’t have kids. But one thing that we will teach them is how money works. One of our goals is to teach them how to invest. Hopefully, by the time they get to college, they’ll already have assets paying for tuition. What better way to teach them about money than having them buy assets to pay for school! Also, they’ll be able to choose their major based on their passion and not a pension. Check out http://www.stewardsofwealth.com/ for a fresh view on finances and how money works. Brain on!

By: Nerd Money

Nerd Money — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:38:55 +0000

Coming recently from university I agree with Trent that students who had lots of time on their hands tended to party more than study more. Not that they didn’t study, but when the study time was over they went to spend money instead of make money.

I think one possible solution in terms of funding is that you loan out any funds you’ve set aside for their education. Set it up like a government funded loan where there’s no interest while they’re in school and then a modest interest rate payable to “The Bank of Mom and Dad” six months after graduation.

By: Trent

Trent — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:56:12 +0000

I don’t think it’s an either/or decision. Pay what you can, but every college student should have a job and help pull the weight of the bursar’s bill.

Unless you have on your hands the rare student who is passionate about learning, a college aged person isn’t going to study more if they don’t have a job. They are going to party more. Plain and simple.

You have to honest about the college experience: In general, kids are hardly enthralled with their courses and hanging on every word in lecture. Often times they’ll be skipping class or sleeping in class.

For those who ARE serious about college, you won’t have to worry about them struggling to find the time to do their coursework. They’ll make it happen. And they’ll be better for it.

The existence of a college work schedule enforces discipline, professionalism and a work ethic.

And I would say emphatically, if the student in question never had a job during high school, then I think you would be doing a great disservice to them by allowing them to wait until they graduate college before punching their first clock.

By: bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:23:26 +0000

That is the kind of Christian Work ethic point of view that I have heard. I like the ideas, and don’t have any problems with it. I paid for the beer at school, and for the records and such too (and all fines and police charges along the way too).

University is a learning experience is what needs to be remembered, not just an academic adventure. High School and CEGEP for me were just places I passed through, but University is where I learned most of the stuff I needed for life (and made most of the ugly mistakes in my life too).

–C8j

By: Michael James

Michael James — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:10:54 +0000

A new factor to consider is that with the removal of grade 13, kids are going off to university a year younger. This makes it harder for them to pay the whole amount of university costs right from the start.

I plan to pay for the basic necessities for my kids initially, and am hoping that they earn enough to take over by the end. I’m not paying for any extras, though. Meal plan, residence, books, and tuition are necessities. I’ll buy a few items of clothing and some toothpaste as well, but not much more. Pop, beer, coffee, movies, train fare, etc., are all extras that they can pay for themselves somehow. I always laugh at the breakdown of university costs I see in the newspaper sometimes. They include thousands of dollars for all kinds of things that are just extras. Students are in school to study. Free time can be spent with some of the thousands of other young people who are there. Money isn’t needed for recreation.