Leaving college and starting out in the real world is hard enough.  Having a ton of college loan debt does not make things any easier.  Now you have pressure to get a good paying job to make a dent in your college loan debt.  Imagine what it would be like to not have to worry about college loan debt.  You could work pretty much anywhere you want for free or little money until you could prove yourself and get a good paying job doing something you love.  Instead, with college loan debt hanging over your head you end up taking the first job that will pay the bills.  While this is what you need in the short term you are hurting yourself in the long run.

What’s the answer?  How do you put yourself in a position to be able to stick it out a low paying job with potential than a higher paying job that will lead you nowhere?

The answer is to minimize your monthly bills as much as possible.  Easier said than done.  This involves sacrifices but will leave you ahead of the game down the road.

Here is the best tip: Don’t Live On Your Own

Sure this would be great.  The problem is you are splitting the rent with yourself which doesn’t help.  Find a roommate, the more the better.  Sure this will suck but you are bound to have some good times too.

Even better: live with your parents if they will let you.  Again, sure this will suck but think of the amount of money you can pack away towards your college loan debt.  Not only will this eliminate rent, it will also eliminate all of your other bills.

By reducing your rent you can afford to work at more entry level positions in companies that you love to work for to prove yourself.  It also enables you to put more money towards college loan debt.

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A Car is NOT AN ASSET

Sure owning a car shows up as an asset on your balance sheet but really it is a depreciating asset that you will never see original value for.

Owning a car in college will add to your college loan debt because you now have at least three additional expenses.  These are gas, insurance, and maintenance.  These costs can add at least $100 to your college loan debt on a monthly basis.

Even if you get a car for free in college, it is still an expense that will add to your college loan debt.

Once you have left school and have started working you should still be cautious of owning a car.  The question you need to ask yourself is do you really need a car to get to work and do other things.  If you live in an urban setting you likely can take advantage of public transportation and close proximity to amenities.  Not having a vehicle will save you a significant amount of money on a monthly basis that can be applied to your college loan debt.

But I Need a Car

If you absolutely need a car then you need to own a beater.  Remember that a car is simply a means of getting from A to B.  You want something small and something foreign.  These cars are good on gas and will be lower on maintenance.  Older cars are also insured for less because they cost less to replace.  You may want to only put liability insurance on your car because the deductible will be more than replacement.

Use this transportation philosophy for as long as you can until you have paid off your college loan debt.  Then once your college loan debt is paid off you can start putting that monthly payment towards a nicer vehicle.  You may find that you really don’t need a nicer more expensive vehicle and the this monthly payment can go towards affording a better house.

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There are many reasons that this will have a negative impact on your overall health and financial well-being.  You may think you are doing yourself a favor by saving time by eating out but you are hurting yourself in the following ways:

1. You are adding to your College Loan Debt

Eating out is not cheaper.  It may seem cheap at the time but it costs you money over the long run thus adding to the amount of college loan debt that you accrue throughout the school year.  People fail to realize that spending the same amount of money on food at the grocery store will last several days and will also be healthier.

2.  Eat Smarter, Be Smarter

Studies have shown that eating healthy will add to your level of energy and to your ability to focus and for your brain to function to better.  Giving your body what it needs could mean the difference between having to repeat a year of school adding 20% to your college loan debt.

3.  Be Healthier

Eating right means you will be healthy and thus more appealling to the ladies or gentlemen at college.  Maybe even that t.a. that will be grading your papers!  Once you start feeling healthy you may also refrain from more unhealthy activities which usually cost a lot more money than just going for a run.

So go check out the local cooking classes or maybe even your college offers some options for learning to cook properly.  This should help you with the amount of college loan debt you accumulate because now what you buy will last you past one meal!

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One way to get a crazy amount of college loan debt is to not understand your budget and expenses.  I never knew this information or cared to find out as my Mom was controlling it all.  Had I known this information or took time to learn it I likely would not have as much college loan debt as I do today.  Know how much money you are getting, know where it needs to go, know how to make money to pay for things you want.  College loan debt is for things you need.

2. Not wanting to miss out.

I never wanted miss an opportunity to go out with my friends – ever.  This had a disastrous impact on the state of my college loan debt.  There was one point where I frequented a local pub 14 days in a row because I could always find people who were going.  This would equal approximately $300 over that period of time that would add to my college loan debt.

3. Being too generous to people

I always wanted to be a good host and friend.  While this can be great for your social life it is a huge contributor to your college loan debt.  I would always share food and groceries with people which would turn a week or more’s worth of food into one night’s worth which added significantly to my college loan debt.

4. Smoking

It’s a nasty habit and one that I have given up…now.  At the time I smoked about half a pack a day which obviously added to my college loan debt.  I seriously don’t know how people can afford to smoke these days especially those adding to their college loan debt to support the habit.  It’s a tough one to break and the environment of college is not conducive to quitting so hopefully if you haven’t started yet, don’t because it will be impossible to quit throughout college and the college loan debt will go up.

5. Crappy Summer Job

Don’t settle for a crappy summer job.  You need to make the most amount of money possible in the shortest amount of time. Even if you start at a crappy summer job keep looking for a job that is in your field of study and volunteer until you can line up that job.  I stayed for three years a marina working 30 hours a week at $9 an hour.  I have an obscene amount of college loan debt to show for being too lazy to find something else.

6. Not thinking I could work while at school or else my college loan would be affected

For some reason I was under the impression that I couldn’t get a job or else my college loan debt amount would be affected more greatly than what I would make at the job.  This is false and I have a ton of college loan debt to show for that.  Look into your college loan and see what the conditions are.

7. Hanging out with people who wanted to spend money all the time.

If you have friends that spend money all the time, you will too.  The problem might be that your friends are spending their parents money while you are spending the money you will someday make by using your college loan debt.  Mix up your circle of friends so that you always have the option of hanging out with someone who isn’t doing something that will involve a lot of money.  This is one strategy to make more friends and reduce the amount of college loan debt you incur.

8. Not focusing enough on school

Basically if you are not focusing on school, you are focusing on activities that involve spending money.  This was certainly true for me and I have the college loan debt to show for it.  Also, by focusing on school you will gain the skills necessary to secure a decent job right out of university or open up more doors for continuing on with your education.  You will likely be more involved with the faculty of your program giving you better networking opportunities and developing connections with people who can help you find a well paying job out of college which will reduce your college loan debt more quickly.

9. Grocery shopping hungry

This is true all throughout your life but especially in college when your grocery bill is likely adding to your amount of college loan debt.  Not to mention that as a college student you probably don’t know how to cook so you will buy more prepared ready made food that will double the price of you grocery bill and your college loan debt.

10. Hey that’s not my bank machine.

ATM machine’s will charge you if they are not your regular financial institution.  I went to school in Canada where if you did not use your bank card at an institution’s bank machine you were charged $3.50 a transaction.  This meant whenever I would take out $20 it would cost me $23.50.  I did this a lot.  I have a lot of college loan debt.  See a pattern?

There is ten of the main reasons I am where I am today.  Up to my eyeballs in college loan debt.  Had I been able to manage this better my life would be easier now with less college loan debt.  I hope you heed this advice and save yourself the hassle down the road.  College is fun, but that college loan debt payment every month definitely is not.

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