School Archives - Page 3 of 8 - Making Sense Of Cents

6 Ways I Saved Money On College Costs

Last Updated: March 17, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 31 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

How much does college cost? This is a question many wonder. There’s rarely a week that goes by where I don’t receive an email from a student or parents of a student who are looking for ways to cut college costs. That’s why today I want to talk about college costs and how you can create a college budget that works so that you can save money in college.

College is very expensive – there is no doubt about that.

However, I want you to know that it IS possible to get a valuable college degree on a budget!

The average public university is over $20,000 per year and the average private university totals over $45,000 once you account for tuition, room and board, fees, textbooks, living expenses and more.

Even with how expensive college can possibly be, there are many ways to cut college expenses and create a college budget so that you can control rising college costs.

Continue reading below to read about the many different ways I cut college costs. While I was not perfect and still racked up student loan debt, I did earn three college degrees on a reasonable budget.

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3 Key Factors To Consider When Comparing College Costs

Last Updated: May 14, 2015 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 22 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Please enjoy this post from a blog friend.

College is often the first financial decision many young adults make.

Unfortunately, for many, it is often the most expensive decision after factoring in repayment terms and cost of interest.

While many may have a first choice of school they’d like to attend, students should objectively compare college costs in order to determine what will be the best fit in the long run.

Here are three key factors to consider when comparing college costs.

Scholarship Considerations

Depending on the size of school, competition for admission, and where the school is located a student may be granted more aid at one institution than another.

It is up for the student to weigh scholarship costs with coming out of pocket or taking out student loans to make up the difference at another school that may not offer as much aid! [Read more…]

How I Paid Off $38,000 In Student Loan Debt In 7 Months

Last Updated: January 14, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 66 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Lately, I have received many questions asking how I was able to pay off my student loans so quickly. I haven’t talked much about my student loans since I paid them off in July of 2013, but I know many struggle with their student loan repayment plan each and every day.

Due to this, it is a topic I am always happy to cover. Paying off your student loans is a wonderful feeling and I want to help everyone else experience the same.

Background on my student loans.

To start off, I am going to provide a quick background on my student loans.

I worked full-time all throughout college. I worked as a retail manager from when I was a teenager until I graduated with my two undergraduate degrees (I was a double major). Then, I was lucky and found a financial analyst position right when I graduated. I took around six months off from college, then I went back to get my Finance MBA, all while still working full-time and building my business.

Even though I worked full-time, I didn’t really put any money towards my student loan debt while I was in college. [Read more…]

What I Would Change About My College Experience

Last Updated: May 1, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 79 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Recently, I published the post How I Graduated From College In 2.5 Years With 2 Degrees and Saved $37,500. While I did graduate quickly and there are benefits related to that, there are things I missed out on by rushing my college experience.

Now I wouldn’t say I had the worst college experience, but I also wouldn’t say it was the best college experience in the world.

I understand that you can’t go back and change the past, but sometimes you can help others learn from your mistakes.

Below are some of the things I would change about my college experience:

I would have started paying off my student loans while I was in college.

While I did pay off my student loans quickly, I didn’t really put much towards them while I was actually in college.

Instead, I worked full-time and put most of my money towards things I shouldn’t have been spending on, such as for clothing and restaurants. It was a huge waste of money, and I can’t help but bang my head on a wall when I think about how much money I wasted.

Truth is, no one remembers your outfits and spending all your money on fast food is just stupid. [Read more…]

How To Save Money On Textbooks + Campus Book Rentals Review

Last Updated: July 17, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner -

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

If you are looking for tips on how to save money as a college student, then one of the top things you need to learn is how to save money on textbooks such as through cheap textbook rentals. In this post, I will be including a Campus Book Rentals review because I used this textbook rental company throughout college and was able to save a great amount of money with cheap textbook rentals.

P.S. I also have a Campus Book Rentals coupon code at the end of the post, so do not miss out on this valuable Campus Book Rentals coupon for the best textbook rental company out there!

When I was in college, I always made sure to save as much money as I could. College is expensive, and everyone knows that. The costs can quickly add up. Between the tuition, lab fees, parking fees, textbook costs, and more, college costs can quickly get out of hand.

I know and understand this. I graduated with around $38,000 worth of student loan debt, and that was even with me carefully managing my costs. Thankfully I paid off my student loans (read about how I paid off my student loans within 7 months), but I do like to help others in as many ways as I can.

According to the National Association of College Stores, the average college student spends around $700 per year on the cost of textbooks. [Read more…]

Should I Ruin My Retirement By Helping My Child Through College?

Last Updated: November 9, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 104 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today’s topic will probably be a touchy one and it’s all about whether or not parents should start (or end) saving for children’s college expenses. Ever since I paid off my $38,000 worth of student loans last year, I have received many e-mails from parents who are interested in seeking help for their children.

These e-mails are all related to whether or not parents should risk or sometimes even ruin their retirement by helping their child pay for college.

There is usually one common theme in these e-mails – the parents are usually not on track for retirement, they have debt, or they cannot afford to help their child in college.

Here are some of the stories I have heard in these emails:

The parents have over $100,000 in student loans that they took out in THEIR name so their child could go to school. These parents are not on track for retirement and they have a lot of other debt besides student loans.
Their child is in medical school and the parents are paying for all of their college expenses plus food, car, rent, etc. These parents are not on track for retirement and they have debt.
Their child is in law school and the child said that if his/her parents don’t continue paying for their expenses, that they would hate their parents. This child was even more mad when the parents printed out every single blog post of mine and gave it to them (I did not tell their parents to do that, it was entirely their idea). The child said I was ruining his/her life (yup, that actually happened). These parents are not on track for retirement and they are afraid of losing their child now as well.

I know I’m not a parent.

I’m not a parenting or child expert either. [Read more…]

How I Graduated From College In 2.5 Years With 2 Degrees AND Saved $37,500

Last Updated: September 19, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 161 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One thing that has been on my mind this month is how I graduated with my Finance MBA two years ago.

It feels like a lifetime ago, but then again it also feels like it was just yesterday.

This has also reminded me about how I graduated with my undergraduate degrees over 4 years ago. For some reason, people don’t believe that’s true, and I was even recently asked to provide proof from a reader…

I know, I have a baby face! The fact that I look a decade younger than I actually am is a whole ‘nother story though.

If you’re wondering the below, please continue reading!

How to graduate college in 3 years
How to finish college in 2 years
How to get a bachelor’s degree in 2 years
Can you finish college in 2 years
How to graduate college in 2 years

The main reason why I got so heavily into school was because I wanted to keep busy. I was a freshman in college when my father passed away. [Read more…]