Parents and Students Rejoice!
It's here, and it's time! The release of the much anticipated book, Parents/Students Guide to Debt-Free College. Coming out in April on Booklocker.com. Yes, there will be a book form and an ebook!
Let me introduce myself: I am Steph, a mere mom, on a quest to send her child to college without a lifetime of inescapable debt for her or I...and WE DID IT!!!! No, not easy, and no...we didn't find a trunk full of money lying around somewhere. It is extraordinarily hard work, but it can be done. Here is secret number one...before the book comes out!
SECRET NUMBER ONE: IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
There is no way one child could do all that is needed to go to college the way finances are today. It is a monumental task. This starts early ideally with family saving (includes parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, extended family and friends), but many people just couldn't and some did...but lost it all or most of it a couple of years ago to a correct marketplace.
Yes, I said it. We were robbed. Plain and simple. If it wasn't the leveraged commodities, it was the ponzi schemes. It's hard to make ends meet; saving enough money to send a kid to college has become tougher than ever. Some of the advice I heard from financial experts told me that either they didn't have kids or they didn't lose enough money to understand where most of us are. Up that certain creek.
I actually started writing this book in 2007...but the ground kept changing. How could I write about rules and regulations when everything kept changing? Then in 2008, the bottom fell out, and I was glad I waited. I realized we were on a new horizon.
If you have young children, there is time, but if your child is Seventh grade or older, it is time to get with the program. This is a total family commitment to the dream of a college education.
Start today: Pay yourself first. Save for your child, first. If we as a culture can afford $60 manicures and $4 coffees, we can afford to save for our retirement and our child's higher education.
Yes, it means sacrifice, but the reward is so worth it. I wrote this book to help you do what we did and not make some of the mistakes I made as a parent. My daughter did well; she was committed to learning. If your child is the same way, then you owe it to them to do the best you can do for them and for you. Distractions are poison. Do the hard work first.
There's one more thing as I make this introduction to the blog: education in this nation is a train wreck. I for one am tired of what I see as a collective of really lame excuses why it is and who is to blame. It's simple really: this is a culture that has made things more important that people. What car you drive is more important than your child's education?! I think not. Yet, people will spent $50,000 on a vehicle and not have a dime saved up for their kids' college education. That's pathetic. It has to stop.
We have money for all sorts of things, but not for schools. We have dug ourselves a financial hole we are having trouble climbing out of, and our children are going to bear the brunt of the burden of our stupidity. We as individuals have to suck it up and grow up right now.
If your child's school sucks, and you really feel they are not learning what they need to be competitive for college admission, and you are exhausted fighting administration-STOP WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO BAIL YOU OUT.
It's time to take education and preparation of your child back. If the school is not teaching the classes your child needs, you do it. Yes, get computer courses (free online), go to the library, sign your high school age child up for community college classes while in high school...whatever it takes.
Students: You have to be motivated. This is your life, and you have to begin to take charge of it. You may not have been raised to take on this responsibility, but the time has come. If you want your dream to manifest, you MUST put in the work to make it real...study hard, work hard, play hard, eat right, and get some sleep:) I know it isn't easy. Nothing worth it really ever is.
This is your first secret to success: make the goal of going to college a family affair. If you are with other relatives and friends, cast your net broadly to people who care about you and want the best that it is time to make a plan.
The book is coming....it will cost you less than a week's worth of coffee. Coming in April, get ready.
Start now. Make the commitment:
I WILL COMMIT TO THE VISION OF MY CHILD ATTENDING COLLEGE.
Students:
I WILL COMMIT TO THE DREAM OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION
NOTHING AND NO ONE WILL KEEP ME FROM THIS GOAL!
That's the spirit:)
If you are in Seventh Grade or higher, tonight:
go to:
http://www.fastweb.com/
Register for college scholarship opportunities tonight! It's free. Do it!
Here's to living the dream!
Steph, the Mom
