The College Investor’s Definitive Guide to Student Loan Debt is out and it’s amazing. If you needed to know something about student loans, read this.
The College Investor gets pretty clear on lots of topics like the different types of loans, private vs. federal and how to determine which one is right for you.
I think my favorite part is something we’re pretty passionate about here at PlumTree and that is the idea of the “right” amount to take out in student loans.
Here’s my favorite part taken directly from their post:
Just like a car loan is a backed by a physical car, and a home loan is backed by your house, a student loan is backed by your earnings.
So, if you are thinking about getting a student loan, you should think about what your earnings will be in the job you want and how much it will cost to get there.
For example, if you want to be a K-12 teacher, the current starting salary nationwide for teachers with no experience is $36,762. How much education can you afford to pay for to make that much money? To be safe, you should keep your total student loan debt below the minimum amount you would make on your first year of work. So, if you want to be a teacher, don’t go into more than $36,000 in debt.
Just because the government or the bank will let you take out more, doesn’t mean you should. You’ve heard the horror stories of young grads who can’t buy a house or start saving for their own kids’ college education because they’re still paying off their own loans. Don’t saddle yourself with a huge monthly bill upon graduation that will not fit into your budget.
Remember: You have the power to choose. Don’t take what seems like the easy way out now and pile on the loans – you will regret that later when you do not get your return on investment. Do the work, now, on the front end and choose the school that fits your lifestyle and your budget.
Conquer Your Student Loans
If you have a great deal of student loans, or are thinking of taking on some staggering amount, contact us today and set-up your free 30 minute “Jump-Start” phone call to see how we can help you get confident with your financial decisions.