Student Loan Debt Secrets of Success

Photo Courtesy of: www.whut.org

So as I mentioned previously, I am in fact a PhD student. As a matter of fact, I have been in school nonstop my entire life. The longest break from school I have ever had was a summer. I went High School, College, Masters, onto PhD. People often hear this and are shocked because most people think of being a student as a financial death sentence. 



When most people envision students they think of the broke student eating ramen. I am not now nor have I ever had any interest in eating Ramen Noodles or any other boxed up nonsense (no offense to those that do though). I have just always thought that being a student meant more money later in life as oppossed to right now.

On top of that I got scholarships for most of my degrees. As a matter of fact, at this point in my studies, upon graduation, I look to have about $40,000 in student loan debt overall. That sounds like a lot until you hear I was able to get a BA, MA, and PhD with that amount. I have talked to students who have 3 times as much for 2 degrees. For those of you who are students, or who are thinking of becoming students, the rule of thumb I stick by is never take out more than you plan to make in your introductory average salary. 

It is tempting to take out large sums of money that you won't have to pay back for years to come, but remember this money is for your education first. Some people too easily forget that and wind up unemployed upon graduation and unable to make payments upon graduation. Be realistic about what your starting salary will be in your chosen field and go from there. Do the leg work to get scholarships, they help tremendously and honestly half the battle is applying! 

Don't get me wrong, I am glad I took out financial aid, because without it I would have never gotten a car or paid rent with my minimum wage salary at the University. However, I went without a lot to keep my student loan debt low. I have even been able to purchase a first home, but it means shopping at thrift stores for clothes and any non-essential items, going without a second car, and even relying heavily on public transportation. 

However, I would rather go without these things now than not have a retirement to fall back on later because I am paying student loans well into my old age. Did you know you needed to have at least 10 times your retiring salary saved up to have enough to live comfortably in retirement? For the salary range I plan (hopefully) to retire at that is a million dollars! How do you save a million dollars? Keep reading and find out....