Don’t panic on this College Loan thing…
The only thing worse than signing any and every single loan application that comes across your plate – without knowing the long term implications, is to sign nothing. You cannot be afraid of all loans. You cannot procrastinate the situation, refuse to look at taking on some debt, and not go to college because you may have to face a reasonable monthly bill for getting an education. Be smart. Do your homework. Weigh the pros and cons of the price tag of various college and do a little comparison shopping here.
look at it this way…
Think of all of those high school seniors who go straight from school into the workforce…most likely into an underpaid and dead end service sector job, with bad or non existent health care benefits. Many of those kids use their new found wealth to buy a new car. Well, lets look at some of the comparisons.
- 2012 Toyota Camry – costs $22,500 + $1,350 (tax) title and extras = $25,000
- $25,000 loan for 63 months at 3.67% interest – $440.44 month – total loan $27,747
So here’s your opportunity cost:
- COLLEGE
- $25,500 average debt for a college grad in 2010
- $293 a month loan repayments for ten years
- Total Loan – $35,214
- CAR
- $25,000 – 2012 Camry (title, tax, license)
- $440 a month loan repayments for five 1/2 years
- Total Loan – $27,747
And once you have a degree according to 2008 statistics:
- The avg earnings of full-time worker with a bachelors degree $55,700
- The avg earnings of full-time worker with a high school diploma $33,800
