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Tag: student debt

A Windfall; or, Student Debt Progress Report

I’m back with another student debt progress report. As I mentioned in a previous article, back in December, I had reached the midpoint in my student debt balance. In other words, I’d paid half of what I owe in student loans by December, bringing my student debt down to $16,743. That’s after only five months of being employed and making regular monthly payments. And note that what I owed in student loans prior to that was around $35,000. I’d say I’ve made some great progress towards my goal of paying it off in a year. But why am I paying it off aggressively? Well the reasons have already been laid out in the previous article, so please check that out for more details. However, the short version is that I think having any type of debt hinders your life. So, to me, it’s a great idea to put the majority of your extra money (money not used for monthly expenses on bills, food, and transportation) towards paying off your debt.

The Midpoint; or, Student Debt Progress Report

My current student debt balance.

As I’ve mentioned in my first article I amassed around $35,000 of student debt to pay for my college education. Fortunately, I was able to start an engineering job with a $71,000 salary two months after I left the university in the same city, which has a lower-than-average cost of living. And within the first month of being employed Kubo Queen and I received a windfall of $10,000 (before taxes), which we put all to use towards my student debt. From there, I elected to pay my student loans, whenever possible, $3,000 per month.

Coming Out Ahead from College; or, Kubo King’s Thoughts On College Education (Part III)

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope my previous article about it inspired you in being more aware of how you spend your time with family and friends. Today we return to my Kubo King’s Thoughts On College Education series with part 3 (see part 1 and part 2). This will be the second to last article in the series, meaning there will be one last part posted next. Anyway, this article focuses on main strategies for cutting the cost of college education down. So read on!

Two years ago, the year 2016, the percentage of high school graduates who headed off to college was around 70% [1]. Some of them may have had clear goals, plans, and expectations from higher education, and had thought out good strategies for tackling the financial burden it would place on them after graduation. However, I suspect that a large number of them did not have such things, and were only there because they were instructed to be there — to be successful in life. They get to universities with no real plans and no real goals, only armed with the hope that their lives will be better if they study some kind of field and receive some kind of degree. The fortunate ones, like me, end up figuring it out on their own, while the unfortunate ones do not. But, that is why this article exists. I want to help people like you who are unsure about college and do not have parental subsidies to fund a, sometimes hedonistic, college lifestyle.

The Real Cost of College; or, Kubo King’s Thoughts On College Education (Part II)

My messy desk at school.

This is the second part of Kubo King’s thoughts on college education (the first part is found here). He talks about one of the most important issues in higher education. So read on!

Today, if someone were to ask me if I thought a university education is worth pursuing, my answer would be — it depends. I believe that every situation is different. My experience as a college graduate might be different from another college graduate. In fact, my experience as someone who studied computer science and math might be different from someone who studied the same field. However, there is one important thing I wished high school teachers had warned kids about. I think it could have saved my peers from financial and emotional pain.