Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

College

Education: Your Hedge Against Inflation

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Every now again, we hear about inflation, and the way it erodes your earning power.

As prices rise, you either have to earn more money, to keep pace, or you have to cut back on your spending so that you aren’t using as much of your money.

Most people prefer to look for better returns.

The right investments, or leveraging your money on low-rate loans to position yourself for the future, can help you make the most of your money now and hedge against inflation.

However, you can also hedge against inflation in a more indirect way: Get an education.

Higher Degree = Better Earning Power

You’ve heard stories about how someone with a degree makes more money than someone without one.  And, for the most part, it’s true.  If you invest in a college education, you are repaid with a higher lifetime earning power.

Take a look at the following chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on how education pays off:

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Student Loan Debt Bubble – Is This Our Next Economic Crisis?

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As if the student loan problem wasn’t already approaching crisis levels, it may get a lot worse.

In 2010 more than $100 billion worth of student loan debt was taken out, making the total amount that Americans owe for education now more than $1 trillion.

The average graduate leaves school with $25,250 in student loan debt and faces decades of payments.

Although the recent student loan reform may ease the burden by making it possible to lower the payments based on the borrower’s level of income, some students face loan payments that are higher than they would pay on a modest size home mortgage.
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How to Make the Most of Your Liberal Arts Degree

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When I graduated from high school, I knew there were two things that I loved—reading and writing. 

I told everyone I knew that I wanted to be a writer, and the majority of them asked, “But what will you really do?”

My eighteen-year-old self felt misunderstood, but now that I have children of my own, I understand the question much better.   I majored in English, and my husband majored in anthropology; no offense to other poor souls in these majors, but fresh out of school, there is not much that you can do with degrees in these areas.
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Save on College Costs by Attending a College with Free Tuition

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Attending a college without paying any tuition sounds too good to be true, but it is not. 

There are a handful of colleges that are tuition-free, but as you can guess, they are extremely competitive to get into.  If you would like to send your child to a tuition-free school, the early high school years are not too early to begin to prepare to apply for these schools.

Specialty Tuition-Free Colleges

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Consider Working at a University to Help Pay College Expenses

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My aunt and uncle, both high school graduates with no college education, had nine kids and helped the ones who wanted to go to college pay for their education.

Many of the nine children now hold professional positions such as financial planner and nursing supervisor.  They are all successful adults, and some make very good salaries.

My aunt and uncle were able to help pay a portion of their children’s college costs despite the fact that my uncle worked in a factory for a number of years while my aunt was a homemaker.

How were they able to do it?

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