student loan debt – shemakescents

I remember I asked the question on the SMC Facebook page, “Should parents help fund their children’s college expenses?” The responses ranged from, “Oh, hell no” to “If I have the means, why not give back to the next generation”. My Dad helped me and because of that, I graduated with about $25,000 in student loan debt, as opposed to $125,000+/ for a top-tier private college. According to USA Today, “in all but one state, the average graduate owed more than $20,000 in 2013, and in six states, the average student debt was more than $30,000.” So what does this all mean post graduation? It means that a generation is starting their adult lives in the red. When it’s time to make major financial decisions, such as buying a house, like our parent’s generation was able to do, the road to home ownership and financial freedom seems non-existent.

A Key Benefit of Parents Funding Their Children’s College Expenses

I bought my house for my 24^th birthday on a whim. In fact, my story of how I purchased a home for my 24^th birthday was nothing more than a beautiful blessing. I had not saved one dime specifically for a purchase of this type. In fact, I was simply praying for a way to get out of my parent’s house after moving back from college. At this time in my life, Sallie Mae and I were close friends because I had my student loans paid a year in advance even with the recession picking up steam. For about two weeks, I was looking on the internet for apartments when I recalled a financial seminar I attended in college where one of the panelists made the point that “renting was paying for something you would never own”. I wondered could I afford to own. With a strong push from my friend Jason, I took a leap of faith, that some would call a poor financial decision, and I made an offer on a property, without looking at other properties. That was just four days after of my 24^th birthday.

Read the full story here: Why I Think Parents Should Their Kids’ College Expenses

How Was I Able to Make Such A Big Financial Decision in Just 4 days? Found out in the full story: