Student loans are a huge career setback. This is how I got ahead...

There are many ways to establish funding for tuition. Some are lucky enough to have a college fund already established by their parents. Many apply for scholarships and federal aid. Others join the military to receive college funding, which is the route I chose and am very thankful for.

When it comes to scholarships the best thing I can recommend is apply, apply, and apply for everything. It may be worth it in the long run if you spend your summer writing the essays and searching for scholarships to apply for. One scholarship I recommend applying for is FASFA. Whether your tuition is covered or not FASFA usually grants some extra money to help out. There’s no such thing of a scholarship being too big or too small. I would have to say at this point everything is worth a try.

Joining the military to receive a full ride scholarship may be perfect for you. Everyone has different opinions on how they want to spend their time and money. If you haven’t always done well in school and don’t have much saved up then I recommend taking the military route. While you are on active duty you will be receiving a paycheck for your work and will be granted the opportunity to attend classes after your work day for free. If you don’t enjoy the military and are wanting to get out after completion of your first contract you are authorized to do so and you will still receive a full ride scholarship at any university. Why do I recommend this route? It’s simple. You are able to have a full time job making good money while taking courses for free on your off time. Keep in mind, you don’t have to take any courses while you’re on active duty, you can wait until you get out and have your four years of college still payed for. Let’s say you get out after four years, you’ll have great potential. You should have plenty of money saved up, a knowledgeable trade you learned in the military, and four years of college tuition payed for. What more can you ask for? Yes, this process may take around two years longer than if you were to go to school full time. However, the money you have accumulated and the free tuition and job experience pays off for those extra two years if you ask me.

Preparing for the unexpected with an emergency fund

Regardless of your current financial situation it is imperative that you have an emergency fund. Many people ask, how much should I have in my emergency fund? The answer should vary depending on your financial and personal life. If you have a steady job that you are confident in than your emergency fund should be at a minimum. However if you aren’t working and decided to attend school full time, your emergency fund should be a lot larger to avoid having to swipe that credit card. The unexpected happens every day and if you are not prepared for them, a simple fix on your vehicle could become your worst nightmare. That five hundred dollar car expense that you had to put on your credit card could become close to a thousand dollar expense before you know it with its accumulation of charges in interest. This is where the emergency fund has been so gracious to me. I can’t count how many times I have a small five hundred dollar fix that needed to be done and I just paid for it cash out of my emergency fund and didn’t have to worry much about it. I paid the money and then restored my fund back to its original amount. I didn’t have to pay any more than what was required and that’s the easiest way to save money in my opinion. If you’re always behind in owing debt to the bank how do you expect to ever get ahead?

Your living expenses shall not be confused with your emergency fund. A night out with the friends or a new television set should not be paid for out of your emergency fund. These expenses should be covered through a monthly budget plan set up for living expenses. Only you can determine what an emergency is and what is not. This is where your self-discipline comes into play and this will either put you ahead or leave you behind.

How do I start this emergency fund? The answer is simple. The easiest way for someone in college to get a large emergency fund established is to work throughout the summer or any other time you have a break in school.  Many people take the summer to continue their education and continue to study and that’s fine I’ve been there myself. It is essential that you find time either after school or before school to get a job or have a stream of income to establish the emergency fund. In my opinion it’s much more efficient to take school at a slower place to make sure you have all the funds to pay expenses out of your own pocket. Which do you prefer, finishing school with a large amount of debt and spending the first five to ten years of your career paying back the bank? Or to spend a year or two longer in school and starting your career debt free?

When I got my first job I was sixteen years old and my parents had to drive me to work every day and pick me up. I wanted a car extremely bad because I was embarrassed because I was working alongside older people. My dad told me when I was able to save up 1,000 dollars he would sell his truck to me for that price. Months later I saved up the money and showed it to him. He responded good now you can have the truck for free but you must always maintain that 1,000 dollars in case of emergencies. If you have to dip into it for emergencies you must restore it to 1,000 dollars before you can spend money on any luxuries. The lesson that he taught me is worth much more than the truck or the 1,000 dollars I saved when I was sixteen. It has put me on the path to great financial success that I’m on today.

I’m quite the conservative when it comes to preparing for emergencies. I keep well over the 1,000 dollar fund that I started with. I enjoy the feeling of not having to worry when accidents and unexpected expenses occur. This not only helps me financially with my balance sheet but also in my school and personal life. Not having to worry about how I’m going to fix my car or pay off the debts I might owe I am able to give my undivided attention to the tasks at hand.