How I Graduated from College Debt Free

As children we are told that we must acquire a college degree if we are ever going to succeed in life, but we are never told how to pay for our educations.

Growing up in a lower middle class family, I learned at an early age that I would only be able to attend a higher learning institution if I had a scholarship, was a great athlete, or got assistance in the form of grants and loans.

Being rail thin, and not the greatest of athletes, there was no sports scholarship in my future. That left me seeking academic scholarships and grants. While I did well enough to secure a minor scholarship and a small amount of grant money, I knew that I would still need capital for books and other college spending related expenses.

Rather than plunge into the shark infested waters of Student Loans, I decided to take another route. Knowing that most students leave college with consumer credit issues and massive amounts of debt, I began looking into getting my general education requirements at a community college. While still higher learning institutes, these colleges were typically less expensive than their larger brethren.

I also began a higher learning savings account. Working part time, and not wanting to acquire any debt, I put all my income into a small banking account. The idea was to only do what I could afford. With my scholarship and grant paying most of my expenses, I used the money in the bank account to finance the rest of my college spending.

Any money that was left over in my account rolled over into the next month. Any money that was left over at the end of the semester rolled over into the next semester. Any money that was left over at the end of the year went into the next year. By the time I had my Associate's Degree, I had quite a bit of money waiting to help me pay for the second chapter of my education.

I chose to attend a small State College near my home. This allowed me to avoid room and board fees. it also kept me more focused on getting my education, as there were less distractions. I was either at work, home, or school. My leisure time came after everything else was completed.

I continued this process for duration of my academic career. It took me about 6 years to complete everything, as I was only able to afford the minimum 12 credit hours per semester. Still, I graduated from a major higher learning institution with no debt or consumer credit problems.