Debt Dumpers 2025

[afan]

It is nice to have the private school name on your resume...... but only for getting your first job. After that your work experience is what matters more.

The biz college of the cal state school I went to is accredited the same as Harvard. All of my classes for my major or general education, had actual professors or people that worked in the industry they were teaching about. Only my science labs had grad student tags. Most large universities have a lot of ta's teaching.

Having Harvard on my resume would just say I spent a lot of money for college. It doesn't say the education was better.

 

[barkley]

I'm also going to try verrryyy hard to steer my children way away from private colleges, that is crazy town. 2 years of CC and transferring to a public 4 year to finish is what I did.

The biz college of the cal state school I went to is accredited the same as Harvard. All of my classes for my major or general education, had actual professors or people that worked in the industry they were teaching about. Only my science labs had grad student tags. Most large universities have a lot of ta's teaching.

I was lucky enough to live within a fairly reasonable commute (depending on the time of day and traffic ) to 3 community colleges when I lived in northern california. I availed myself of the community college system and ended up with some of the identical professors teaching the identical lower division classes they were concurrently teaching at the much costlier uc berkeley and uc davis.

 

[piglet1979]

We do about 25% of annual income in retirement, not counting personal brokerage and other stuff, but yes I get what you're saying! We don't have any consumer debt, just the mortgage.

I'm also going to try verrryyy hard to steer my children way away from private colleges, that is crazy town. 2 years of CC and transferring to a public 4 year to finish is what I did.

Both of my kids applied to both private and public schools. Oldest is at a private and youngest is at a state school. Sometimes private schools come out to be the same as state schools because they have more money to give out. Oldest got around $25,000 in merit scholarship and youngest got $6,000 for merit. What we found that made the biggest difference is staying home. It was roughly $15,000 to live on campus. Both kids went to the school that they had to pay the least amount for school.

I suggest applying to both and see what comes out to be the cheapest.

 

[barkley]

Both of my kids applied to both private and public schools. Oldest is at a private and youngest is at a state school. Sometimes private schools come out to be the same as state schools because they have more money to give out. Oldest got around $25,000 in merit scholarship and youngest got $6,000 for merit. What we found that made the biggest difference is staying home. It was roughly $15,000 to live on campus. Both kids went to the school that they had to pay the least amount for school.

I suggest applying to both and see what comes out to be the cheapest.

I'll second this suggestion and add that the same practice result can apply to community colleges vs. state colleges. when our oldest was in high school and considering community college I suggested at least applying to/doing the general ('all in one') scholarship application for the very local to us state university b/c since we were local we were constantly seeing/hearing of their fund raising activities for scholarships. sure enough, when the acceptance was received it was quickly followed by an offer that basicly eliminated any cost difference between the university and the community college (and was good for 2 years). opted for the university b/c that's where he ultimatly planned to end up. an additional advantage was being able to get into a student job in freshman year which established a track record when it came to competing for the more desireable student jobs in junior and senior years. community college offered nothing scholarship wise.

housing for college is OBSCENE-the one local to us did not require it when oldest went but does now for freshman (fortunately for locals there's an exemption). I was curious so I just looked and their cost is over $15,000 for a shared room/community bathroom/bare bones meal plan (that no one opts for-too meager). safe/well kept apartment complexes (like the one my oldest lives in) near the university (with a bus stop outside that has a direct to/from the university route) charge around $1000 per month for a 1 bedroom full apartment (so private bathroom, living room dining area/kitchen) that also includes a washer dryer in each unit (no paying per load) and free secure parking (so no exhorbitant parking fee on campus). the kicker is you have that apartment for the full duration of your lease so unlike the dorms you don't have to find alternate housing during the almost month long winter break (and 3 months during the summer).

 

[Tygerlilly]

Disney Alaksa cruises depart from Vancouver, and other cruise lines even if they leave from Seattle will stop in Canada because of the PVSA. So you're either going to need passports for that anyway.

Right, but I have time to get them before we even begin planning for that cruise. We simply ran out of time before this one would have been.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm beginning to look at going back to work full time. Or for more than what I'm currently doing. With prices continuing to rise on literally everything, I'm worried we'll have another mortgage hike in the new year. I'm not going to apply for another few weeks since we still have a trip planned for the beginning of November, but I will absolutely start applying places in mid-October so I can hopefully have my start date be right after we get back. Hopefully I can find something that I can work early mornings to like noon or 1pm so I don't have to go back to the warehouse again.

 

[firefly_ris]

Both of my kids applied to both private and public schools. Oldest is at a private and youngest is at a state school. Sometimes private schools come out to be the same as state schools because they have more money to give out. Oldest got around $25,000 in merit scholarship and youngest got $6,000 for merit. What we found that made the biggest difference is staying home. It was roughly $15,000 to live on campus. Both kids went to the school that they had to pay the least amount for school.

I suggest applying to both and see what comes out to be the cheapest.

Thank you. This is all going to be completely unknown territory to me. I just don't want my kids to start off their adult lives with a bunch of student loan debt since we're only going to be able to hand them a paltry amount, especially if they major in something that they could get a degree for anywhere. I also don't know if any of them will want to not go to college and do something like trade school instead, which I don't know anything about either. So I have some reading to do soon here.

 

[barkley]

Thank you. This is all going to be completely unknown territory to me. I just don't want my kids to start off their adult lives with a bunch of student loan debt since we're only going to be able to hand them a paltry amount, especially if they major in something that they could get a degree for anywhere. I also don't know if any of them will want to not go to college and do something like trade school instead, which I don't know anything about either. So I have some reading to do soon here.

one thing i'll suggest is that they (ideally with your help) look for any opportunities within a field of work they may be interested in to receive partial or (in some cases) entirely free education WHILE being employed and also earning an income. the trades around us constantaly advertise for people to come into their hybrid working/training programs (and I never see an electrician, HVAC tech or plumber come out to my house without 1-2 apprentices in tow learning the trades), a young lady I know went into a program several of the local hospitals offer in cooperation with the local universities that has them first qualify as nursing assistants and then progresses through the rn programs all coordinated with their work scheduals (on the hospital's dime). I retired from dshs and supervised people who came in as unskilled entry level clerical and used our employer reimbursement to cover their bachelor's degrees (on their own time) but when they wanted an msw they could do a program that gave them partial pay when they were off months at a time for classes, full pay during breaks in school (we had them back in the office doing tasks)-and paid for the grad degree in full. it only takes a call to employers in the industry/field a person is interested in to learn of these opportunities.

 

[disney-inspired]

Thank you. This is all going to be completely unknown territory to me. I just don't want my kids to start off their adult lives with a bunch of student loan debt since we're only going to be able to hand them a paltry amount, especially if they major in something that they could get a degree for anywhere. I also don't know if any of them will want to not go to college and do something like trade school instead, which I don't know anything about either. So I have some reading to do soon here.

Or they can be like my sister who started at community college and then transferred over to state university. It's taken her a little longer as was working to pay her way. She's in her last semester at 25 and ZERO student loan debt. I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to do the same.

 

[fofinia]

I'm beginning to look at going back to work full time. Or for more than what I'm currently doing. With prices continuing to rise on literally everything, I'm worried we'll have another mortgage hike in the new year. I'm not going to apply for another few weeks since we still have a trip planned for the beginning of November, but I will absolutely start applying places in mid-October so I can hopefully have my start date be right after we get back. Hopefully I can find something that I can work early mornings to like noon or 1pm so I don't have to go back to the warehouse again.

I just heard about an interesting job. A client of mine works as a supervisor at Whole Foods for the in store shoppers. The pay is minimum wage. But she said you only needed to work 1 -4 hr shift a week. And shifts can start as early as 4am. It was the extras that made the job interesting to me. 20% employee discount off all Whole Foods purchases. And on top of the 20% an additional 15% off all hot foods.

Whole Foods is known for being really good to their employees. Another friend works as a receiving manager. And they give gift cards a lot for work goals and bonuses.

She also said that when you apply they pretty much give any candidate a chance at the job. So almost a guaranteed trial period.

Of course that’s if you have a Whole Foods nearby.

 

[firefly_ris]

Or they can be like my sister who started at community college and then transferred over to state university. It's taken her a little longer as was working to pay her way. She's in her last semester at 25 and ZERO student loan debt. I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to do the same.

That's what I did and I lived at home the whole time as well.

 

[barkley]

That's what I did and I lived at home the whole time as well.

me too! my adult kids ask why I had so many different jobs when I was younger and it's a simple answer-'i took the jobs that were willing to work around my class scheduals which changed every quarter-and winter break/summers were prime earning months so if you could get multiple part-time jobs you might be able to ease off the next academic year'. even though I spent allot on gas commuting to my state university that last couple of years living at home still made it more cost effective. even 5 years down the line rent and utilities in my own full sized 1 b/r apartment cost less than what the dorms were charging 5 years earlier for a very small shared room with communal bathrooms (and if I remember right that was before the meal plan was added to the tab).

 

[Tygerlilly]

Of course that’s if you have a Whole Foods nearby.

The closest one is about an hour away.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Forgive me asking something that has nothing to do with debt dumping, but I am not sure where else I can find out an answer to this.

Are high school reunions as much of a thing as TV and films would have us believe? Especially detective shows.

In the UK they are really, really rare (at least outside the private sector where they happen a bit more, mainly as a way of extracting donations from former pupils) but it feels like they are a frequent event in the US.

Until very recently proms weren't a thing here but they have become much more prevalent in recent years and I am just wondering if reunions may follow the same pattern.

Thanks for indulging my curiousity.

 

[MattB2G]

Forgive me asking something that has nothing to do with debt dumping, but I am not sure where else I can find out an answer to this.

Are high school reunions as much of a thing as TV and films would have us believe? Especially detective shows.

In the UK they are really, really rare (at least outside the private sector where they happen a bit more, mainly as a way of extracting donations from former pupils) but it feels like they are a frequent event in the US.

Until very recently proms weren't a thing here but they have become much more prevalent in recent years and I am just wondering if reunions may follow the same pattern.

Thanks for indulging my curiousity.

I graduated in 1983, and have only been to 1 high school reunion, and my class has only had a total of 3 so far. I think it really depends on the makeup of your class. I think they use to be a bigger thing a long time ago, because my parents always went to theirs. Now I don't think it is as big a deal to go or not to go.

 

[afan]

I graduated in 1983, and have only been to 1 high school reunion, and my class has only had a total of 3 so far. I think it really depends on the makeup of your class. I think they use to be a bigger thing a long time ago, because my parents always went to theirs. Now I don't think it is as big a deal to go or not to go.

We've had two at 10 ans 20 years. I didn't go to either, really don't care. Most of the people from hs that I care to know about or still be in occasional contact with I'm friends with on fb.

I think it depends on the area of the country you went to hs in and the size of your class to how well attended a reunion is. It's also supposed to fall on the senior class president to plan it or at least find people to help with it. That can affect things if they don't want to and no one else does anything.

Also social media has made it both easier to plan and find people but also unnecessary.

But they do tend to happen every 10 years. My 30th is coming up in a couple years and I doubt I'll go. If it's not something interesting why go. Last one was a dinner in a hotel meeting room. Any of the people I was curious about weren't in the fb group for it so I didn't go. I think less than 100 out of a class of around 300 went.

 

[barkley]

Are high school reunions as much of a thing as TV and films would have us believe?

I don't think so. I never see them announced around our region and where i graduated from it seems they have fewer. maybe the monumental time periods attract more (25/50 year) though I will say that it was interesting at my 10th to see how many of the women were already divorced, see people that really blossomed into their own vs. where they had been pidgeonholed in high school. 25th was interesting as well b/c we had a few people who reconnected with their high school significant other at the 10th, married and were now divorced and attending with their 3rd (or subsequent) spouse. our 50th is in 4 years-i'm considering attending if one is held.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I didn't go to our 10th and we either didn't have a 20th or I didn't know about it. I'm wondering if we're doing a 25th instead? The only 4 people I care about speaking to from my class I'm friends on Facebook with so I already know what's going on with their lives.

 

[LadybugsMum]

Are high school reunions as much of a thing as TV and films would have us believe? Especially detective shows.

It really just depends on the graduating class. I finished high school in 1993 and we've had 10/20/30 year reunions. I have not been able to go to any of them due to other events going on at the time and I live over 700 miles away from my hometown. Also, not many people actually want to plan the reunion - just attend it. For my parents, the reunions have been a much bigger deal, but for later generations who are all connected over social media, it seems less important.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Thanks everyone, so it would appear to be just a convenient plot device for detective shows and sitcoms.