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Debt.
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You have a qualification that nobody can take away from you, ever, that will often allow you to demand higher wages if/when you go into employment. It's also an epic experience socially and, for some lines of work, learning at University level is essential.
I was fortunate enough to be able to pay my own way through University, but for the vast majority who pay the, sometimes extensive, costs via loans and help from their families and friends there's still tremendous value providing you pick your course and institution carefully.
My Dad: Thousands. He paid for my car and everything else - eventhough I don't ask him too. But he's one of those money = love sorts so it kinda figures.
Companies: About £500. I stupidly took out 3 phone contracts and gave a false date of birth. Thats in the process of being cancelled though, as they can't actually claim nothing.
I'm 18 in a week - a new start, debt free.
Oh wait, then comes Uni...
Companies: About £500. I stupidly took out 3 phone contracts and gave a false date of birth. Thats in the process of being cancelled though, as they can't actually claim nothing.
I'm 18 in a week - a new start, debt free.
Oh wait, then comes Uni...
You'd be surprised. An undergraduate degree or some sort of diploma is now expected, and you don't really get paid more for having one anymore. The difference is around $6000, and even people who have degrees don't necessarily have a higher salary "ceiling" than before. Even for some graduates, they'll hit a salary ceiling at $60,000 or so.
You essentially get an undergrad degree to keep up with "the Jonses", while you go for Graduate degrees (ie: Masters, PhDs) to be ahead.
Why anybody would pay such high costs to get an undergraduate degree is anyones guess. It's more of an American phenomenon than anything else. I'm sure tuition is as high in non-American unis, but not at as many as in the US. All you need to do is go to a university outside of your own State, and you're already getting into the "ridiculously expensive" category.
So in a way, Amber does have a point. I don't see how undergraduate degrees justify being so expensive, putting people $80000 in debt or more just because the university is a "private university", whatever that means.
i would much rather invest in myself than in property. what was so special about my education is that i went to the best school in the western hemisphere for what i do (graphic design) and doing that has not only made my income increase dramatically but has made me a better designer by a factor of a million. i also have a massive network of people all over the world that came to this school that would not have been at lesser institutions.
like i said, worth every penny.
That really is key. Having two incomes and no kids until you're in your mid thirties can go a long ways towards setting yourself up with manageable or no debt. It also allows you to have a house almost half paid off and over a decade of appreciated value by the time that first kid comes along.
For outstanding loans we have less than 20x our monthly income. This includes our mortgage and one car payment (we've been without a car payment since 2003 but decided it was time to get something that was less than 7 years old in the garage).
In reality, once you take into account our savings/investments, we have enough to pay off all our debt with some left over. However our interest rates on the debt are low enough that it makes more sense to have the money working for us rather than paying the debt off. Not that we aren't paying extra on the car/house when we can.
In 12 years we'll finally pay off the house which isn't bad considering we'll only be in our early 40s and our kids will all be under 15 (benefits of going for a 15 year mortgage). We go through discussions about a new house every year or so but always seem to come to the same conclusion, it would be nice to have a bigger place but it will be nicer to have the current house paid off. It seems cramped and will seem even more cramped with a new baby in April/May but the house is bigger than either of the houses we grew up in and we survived just fine.
In reality, once you take into account our savings/investments, we have enough to pay off all our debt with some left over. However our interest rates on the debt are low enough that it makes more sense to have the money working for us rather than paying the debt off. Not that we aren't paying extra on the car/house when we can.
In 12 years we'll finally pay off the house which isn't bad considering we'll only be in our early 40s and our kids will all be under 15 (benefits of going for a 15 year mortgage). We go through discussions about a new house every year or so but always seem to come to the same conclusion, it would be nice to have a bigger place but it will be nicer to have the current house paid off. It seems cramped and will seem even more cramped with a new baby in April/May but the house is bigger than either of the houses we grew up in and we survived just fine.
I have my student loan, which i guess is about £9,000. But in the UK, student loans are very good as the loan is from the government, and as a result is better than any commercial loan you could get. You pay absolutely minimal interest and pay it back very slowly, and only when you can afford it. I'm not fully clued up about the terms of the loan (it was almost three years ago when I signed up to it).
Come next year I will probably be in debt to my parents as they will pay for my tuition fees for my masters course. It saves me getting a career development loan, which can be quite harsh (given that you have no security). However, after my masters I hope to get a decent paying job for a year, which should pay off that debt quite soon.
And then I will start my PhD debt free
Of course, all this means I will never get on 'the property ladder'. But that hardly keeps me awake at night. I honestly don't see the benefits of home ownership at a young age.
Come next year I will probably be in debt to my parents as they will pay for my tuition fees for my masters course. It saves me getting a career development loan, which can be quite harsh (given that you have no security). However, after my masters I hope to get a decent paying job for a year, which should pay off that debt quite soon.
And then I will start my PhD debt free
Of course, all this means I will never get on 'the property ladder'. But that hardly keeps me awake at night. I honestly don't see the benefits of home ownership at a young age.
Well the wife and I just dipped below the $200,000 (CAD) point on our mortgage and I have about $30 on the credit card right now (don't know about the wife's card... but she's a very practical lady) . I was lucky to have investments and a generous family to get me to this point. I graduated with out debt, saved like a madman to put over 50% down on my car, paid the rest of the car loan off a year early. Then started saving to put 25% down on our home when we bought it.... crap that reminds me technically we owe $40,000 to ourselves that we have to put back in RRSP investments over the next 15 years. I guess I should say we've dipped below the $240,000 dollar mark.
. I was lucky to have investments and a generous family to get me to this point. I graduated with out debt, saved like a madman to put over 50% down on my car, paid the rest of the car loan off a year early. Then started saving to put 25% down on our home when we bought it.... crap that reminds me technically we owe $40,000 to ourselves that we have to put back in RRSP investments over the next 15 years. I guess I should say we've dipped below the $240,000 dollar mark. Hey take a look at those investments! If your enterest earned on them is less than the interest rate of your mortgage you could liquidate your equity and be Mortgage free! (Ok, it's not quite that simple...but close!)
Not really.
Equity means nothing unless you sell the house or do a cash-out refinance, in which case you would either need a new house to live in, or have a larger mortgage than you started with.
Sure, equity is good to have as far as showing your assets (might get you a higher limit on a credit card), but it's basically meaningless until you liquify it.
I'm a Yorkshireman, we're very good at not spending money.
I've just always been careful about not spending more than I bring in, but I was very fortunate to be at university at the right time – it was back when you got your fees paid and a grant too. That, coupled with a student job meant that I didn't need to go getting any loans, so I avoided getting into debt that way. Had I been a few years younger I wouldn't have been so fortunate and would most likely have graduated with quite a bit of debt.
As I mentioned earlier, we've recently acquired 30 years worth of debt through getting a mortgage, but as it stands the payments are well within our means.
I owe $30 to my mom for iTunes purchases.
Also $150 for eBay purcases.(Don't tell her about the ebay money though)
Also $150 for eBay purcases.(Don't tell her about the ebay money though)
Wow, do I have it easy when it comes to my University! I pay the equivalent of 42 cents (US) for my semester
Come to think of it, what I spend in food in one day can easily pay off my 5 year carrer...
Come to think of it, what I spend in food in one day can easily pay off my 5 year carrer...
Ah I meant selling equity (as in stock). I took the message as binky2033 had $150K in stock, rather than having paid off that portion of the mortgage.Not really.
Equity means nothing unless you sell the house or do a cash-out refinance, in which case you would either need a new house to live in, or have a larger mortgage than you started with.
Sure, equity is good to have as far as showing your assets (might get you a higher limit on a credit card), but it's basically meaningless until you liquify it.
I think it's because I personally don't consider the home as equity till the mortgage is paid off... for the reasons you mentioned above about needing to buy into another mortgage.
I guess I was very lucky to have a sponsor who financed my BA degree. I think I spent about USD100,000 for my 4 years including tuition, boarding, and other "college party stuffs which I cannot mention (I may be running for a public office in the future ). I heard there is about 10% increase every year for college tuition in USA (I am guessing the similar trend for other developed nations).
Luckily, I have no debt. Just for the sake of establishing good credit history, I financed my car through a bank and paid it off in 1 year (3 year term) as I did not want to keep paying for the full insurance coverage (I don't use my personal car that much as I have a company car).
I hate to be owned by someone who lends money. I hope I don't have to borrow money to buy a house....
). I heard there is about 10% increase every year for college tuition in USA (I am guessing the similar trend for other developed nations). Luckily, I have no debt. Just for the sake of establishing good credit history, I financed my car through a bank and paid it off in 1 year (3 year term) as I did not want to keep paying for the full insurance coverage (I don't use my personal car that much as I have a company car).
I hate to be owned by someone who lends money. I hope I don't have to borrow money to buy a house....
It sucks because with increasing tuition costs and starting salaries beginning to decline, a lot of graduates coming out of college with a lot of debt are unable to purchase a house, car, or even start a family due to the burden of the debt.
Tell me truthfully, do some of these private universities really need endowments that rival the GDP of some Third World Countries? And why isn't there any merit aid at the highest levels (e.g. Harvard, Yale, etc?) Is it simply because everyone would receive aid?
Those Ivy League colleges attract well-heeled applicants. Of course, there are students from less than wealthy background. But, overall, students at those colleges are from very well-connected and/or wealthy families. Some of the student aides are subject to the means test (ie. you have to be from the family which are below the threshold annual income).
But that's what confuses me...since a well-off family will likely be able to afford it and a poorer family will receive need-based aid, where does that leave middle America, i.e. those families that live well enough, but can't spend everything to pay the costs for their children to go?
That was just so sweet. It was really nice. Sounds like something my husband would say. Just like me your wife is a lucky person.
My condo's mortgate is about half of it's market value, and there's 20 years left on the mortgage. My student loans would take me 2.5 years to pay off, at my current rate. I lease my car, so technically I'm obligated to make payments for one more year, but I can just turn it in then and not owe anything.
I got free of credit card debt a year ago, and have no plans for getting in any more debt than I currently am. Just digging myself out, and biding my time. Need to look at saving for retirement again, since I stopped a couple years ago, when I was in University.
Turning 27 in a month, and behind on my financial goals. But I guess I'm doing ok.
I got free of credit card debt a year ago, and have no plans for getting in any more debt than I currently am. Just digging myself out, and biding my time. Need to look at saving for retirement again, since I stopped a couple years ago, when I was in University.
Turning 27 in a month, and behind on my financial goals. But I guess I'm doing ok.