For some reason I hesitate to take a student loan. Majority of people don't think this way, and, in fact, it is a common way of paying for education here in the USA. For me, it's a dilemma.
The reluctance I have to take it has to do with my upbringing and background. In Russia it was living within our own means, saving money for big purchases, and a grand opportunity to obtain a free education (things have changed now). In the US, the better part have a more relaxed attitude towards credit, it almost doesn't stress them to accept offers for it, and then slowly pay it off.
However, I've read and heard stories about how credit and loans destroy peoples' lives. We forget that we have to pay back the money we were given so effortlessly, and it's super easy to spend it. Some still paying for groceries they purchased a decade ago; students are up to their ears in debt until after many years from graduation. It takes a toll on them, they devoid themselves of things like being able to buy a home, opportunity to travel- they are basically trapped. The student loans is the only type of credit which can't be written off in bankruptcy.
The student loans are like a snowball - one just keeps taking more and more and offers don't end. It's very tempting. The solution could be, if a loan is needed, to calculate accurately and to take it as little as possible.
The reluctance I have to take it has to do with my upbringing and background. In Russia it was living within our own means, saving money for big purchases, and a grand opportunity to obtain a free education (things have changed now). In the US, the better part have a more relaxed attitude towards credit, it almost doesn't stress them to accept offers for it, and then slowly pay it off.
However, I've read and heard stories about how credit and loans destroy peoples' lives. We forget that we have to pay back the money we were given so effortlessly, and it's super easy to spend it. Some still paying for groceries they purchased a decade ago; students are up to their ears in debt until after many years from graduation. It takes a toll on them, they devoid themselves of things like being able to buy a home, opportunity to travel- they are basically trapped. The student loans is the only type of credit which can't be written off in bankruptcy.
The student loans are like a snowball - one just keeps taking more and more and offers don't end. It's very tempting. The solution could be, if a loan is needed, to calculate accurately and to take it as little as possible.
I agree. Unfortunately without students loans, many students may not have access to higher education. I recommend that students apply for scholarships and take students loans if and only if they have no other means of paying for college.
ReplyDeleteTo me, getting a loan is the last choice. I think that having a full time job is not necessarily as bad as getting a loan without any income. If I were you, I would not quit my job, so that at least I would have some income.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a little scary to know that you have to pay back so much money whether you find a job or not. But regardless, spending money for education is a smart choice which will pay back someday. We rarely hesitate to take a loan to buy a house or to drive a nice car. Money for education is an investment in our future that neither the stock market nor the inflation can devalue.
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