We wrote A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More (Ave Maria Press, 2021) for individuals and families at every stage of life. However, there are two milestones in the life of a young adult that can be particularly costly . . . and the first one is college. (The second is a wedding, and we have a separate resource for that!) Your education can set you up for future financial well-being or put you so deeply in debt that it will take years to dig out. This download is for students who are finishing their high school years (or who are going back to school after being in the workforce for a while) and are looking to get the education or training they need to support themselves in the real world. Whether you choose a four-year university, a community college, a local training school, or some other program, you need to ask yourself, How am I going to pay for this?
Don’t Waste Your High School Years:
First, a bit of background. We have fourteen kids (the oldest is now in her thirties) and have helped most of them launch themselves into college the same way they paid for their first car: save, plan, budget, then start saving more for repairs or for the next car. Each of our kids has had the same goal: to get their undergraduate degree and be debt-free at graduation. According to our family rules, they are responsible for any college expenses due after financial aid and scholarships are applied, usually through savings and work-study programs. We don’t help them with tuition, books, or room and board (unless they live at home). Because all of our kids (except for #13) were or are being homeschooled through high school, they have more time to build up that nest egg than many students do. We graduate them from high school at either sixteen or seventeen, depending on how much they have worked ahead. (Why stay in high school longer than you have to? In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “It’s a little childish and stupid, but then, so is high school.”) Graduating from high school early is also a plus if you need to spread out your college education over five or six years due to finances. Our daughter Alex has this to say about what homeschooling taught her about financial independence: I believe we all became more independent by being homeschooled and starting to work as young teenagers. We did a lot of self-directed work, which prepared us for college. We all started working as soon as we could, maybe to get out of the house but also because if we wanted money to go out with friends, buy special clothes, a car, or a phone, that was on us. I appreciate having had to pay for those things on my own as that instilled good habits: an early work ethic, saving, and budgeting. It also helped me to make more intentional decisions about what I was spending my money on. If you are currently in high school, it’s not too soon to start thinking about where you want to go to college and how you are going to pay for it. Working summers and part-time during the school year can give you a measure of financial freedom if you you are disciplined about saving. (If you’re not sure how to do that, check out the chapters on budgeting and saving in our book!)
Search Relentlessly for Free Money (Scholarships):
During the fall of their last year of high school, each of our kids filled out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application to get some wealth redistributed their way. Hey, if the government is gonna tax people’s money and give it away for free, our kids might as well get a slice of the pie! Once you complete the FAFSA form, you will learn how much free money (in the form of a Pell Grant) you qualify for, based on your family income and other factors. You will also learn how much money you can borrow. The federal government offers two kinds of student loans, subsidized (lower interest rate) and standard (regular interest rates). We want our kids to avoid student loans like a prom date with body odor. But, as you will see, sometimes the kids have had to take out student loans. You will also want to research in the library, talk to your guidance counselor, and check with your local politicians for scholarship money. Our kids have all received between $200 and $500 per semester from various state officials.
Consider Community College:
While we don’t feel that college is a must, we do encourage our kids to go to community college for two years. After that, if they want to continue at a four-year university, get a job, go to trade school, start their own business, or try out for Dancing with the Stars, it’s up to them. Community college is much cheaper per credit than a four-year university. We have a nationally recognized community college about twenty minutes down the road from us. In addition to being affordable, this particular community college is linked to all the public universities in our state. Credit received for courses taken at the community college transfers to the state colleges. After attending community college, all of our kids so far have transferred to a state university, receiving full credit for two years of college. Another plus of community college: If you drop out, very little money has been wasted. And yes, our kids go to public colleges, not Catholic ones. The various public universities our kids have attended have all had Catholic student groups on campus, some better than others. And some of our kids have been more involved with those student groups than others, but all the kids have kept their faith while in school. So we don’t see what $50,000 per year and a degree in philosophy gets you, other than a job at Starbucks and a home in your parents’ basement. We are mostly kidding! If you can afford to pay cash to go to a Catholic college and you feel the experience is worth the expense, go for it. Our community college costs $6,000 to $7,000 per year. Our kids usually get $3,000 to $6,000 in aid and scholarships annually during their community college days. (They receive more aid when attending a university.) The amount of aid the kids receive has been decreasing over the years as our income goes up and the number of dependents living at home goes down. Depending on the amount they receive, they have to come up with $1,000 to $4,000 per year. And since they have all been working throughout high school and have developed good saving habits, this is not an issue. After two years of community college, all of our kids have moved on to a four-year state university. Some go to one close to home and commute; they get free room and board that way but have commuting costs. Others have chosen to go to a school farther away (living there adds to the expense, obviously). They finance this by using their savings, summer jobs, and on-campus jobs, plus whatever financial aid they have received. For some of the kids, the financial aid package has been enough to cover the entire cost of college. Public universities in our state cost around $10,000 per year for tuition and a similar amount for room and board.
Keep Saving Once You’re at School:
It has been fun to watch our kids get creative with ways to save money in order to achieve their goal to get through college debt-free while living on their own. Finding cheap housing is mission number one. Apartments and houses that are close to being condemned but are perfect for a bunch of twenty-year-old guys to rent are much sought after by our kids. They buy used books online or rent them from sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Textbooks.com. They also know how to shop for and cook basic, inexpensive meals (if you don’t know how, ask a parent for some lessons or find a mentor). They get a junker bike to ride around campus. An old bike purchased at a garage sale for twenty dollars is perfect for this purpose, and if it gets stolen, it’s no big loss.
And Now, a Word from a Real Live Graduate:
Our Son, Robert Fatzinger, Age Twenty-One I think the biggest thing I have to offer is to tell you to not get caught up in the idea of a “fun college experience.” I still had fun going to community college and then transferring to the University of Maryland (UMD). While at times I wish I had been able to go there all four years, the money I saved and the credits I built up while attending community college were well worth it. If you can find a way to get ahead by taking college-level courses while in high school, do it. Taking classes at your local community college saves you so much time and money. The flexibility of community college also allowed me to work between fifteen and thirty hours a week throughout my first two years of school. I saved a good bit of money and got help from financial aid, which allowed me to pay for the first year of school at UMD without accumulating much debt. As far as living on your own goes, I did move out for my two years at UMD. This allowed me to hang out with my friends who also attended UMD much more. If you do live at school, I suggest you make sure you have a way to make food on your own. This saves so much money compared to eating out all the time or buying a meal plan and eating on campus. I like to stick to easy recipes that I can make with simple ingredients. The next big thing is to find a supermarket/grocery store close to you that has good deals. The chains in my area like Aldi and Lidl have great deals. The idea is to just find the cheapest stores so you can afford to buy a lot of groceries and be able to make whatever you want. While I was in school, I set a monthly spending limit for myself. I tried to keep my expenses, other than tuition, food, and rent, under $200 a month. This gave me enough money to hang out with my friends and go to places around campus. I was able to do this by having a few different jobs. In my experience, the best/easiest job you can get is an on-campus job. Student employee hours are usually very flexible, and for the most part, the jobs are easy. I was also able to do homework and study a lot of the time while at work. Not only do you make money, but it also is a good résumé builder. What should you study to get the best value for your education? If you are looking to get hired easily after graduation, I recommend that you pick a practical major. It’s okay to do something you enjoy, but make sure that thing will be able to support you after school. And if you want to work for a larger firm, keep an eye on your grades. Try to achieve around a 3.3–3.7 GPA, depending on your major. The other thing that helped me was having a lot of other activities during college to build my résumé. Companies want to see that you can get good grades while also having a life. This is why I worked, played intramural sports, joined clubs, and volunteered for a lot of charities. The good companies will recognize that you still achieved a good GPA while doing something outside of school. I took on around $20,000 in debt during my last two years of school. The key to keeping your debt down is to save your money and apply for all sorts of scholarships. By being frugal, working throughout school, and going to community college, you’ll be able to graduate without a ton of debt.
Seeing Is Believing: Where Are They Now?
There are many ways to tackle paying for college, if you choose to go. The details provided above have worked for us and may work for you. Here are our results so far from doing it this way:
• Child #1 received her undergrad degree at age twenty and her master’s degree at age twenty-one. She finished undergrad school debt-free, took out a small loan for the last semester of grad school, and had a job upon graduation.
• Child #2 completed his undergrad degree at age twenty-two. He was in the seminary for two years after high school, so he got a later start on college. He graduated debt-free and had a job upon graduation.
• Child #3 received his undergrad degree at age twenty and his doctor of physical therapy degree at age twenty-three. He completed undergrad school debt-free. He took on a lot of student loan debt for medical school. He had a job upon graduation. He is in the process of paying down his student loans.
• Child #4 completed her undergrad degree at age twenty-one. She graduated debt-free and had a job upon graduation.
• Child #5 received her undergrad degree at age twenty-one and a master’s degree at twenty-two. She finished her undergrad degree debt-free. She took out a small student loan to pay for part of grad school. She had a job upon graduation.
• Child #6 completed his undergrad degree at age twenty-one. He graduated with a small student loan that he took out for the last semester of school and had a job upon graduation. He paid off the loan within a year of graduating.
• Child #7 received his undergrad degree at age twenty. He graduated with a moderate amount of student loan debt that he took out for the last two years of school and had a job upon graduation.
• Child #8 is nineteen years old and a junior in college. He has no student loans so far.
• Child #9 is seventeen years old and a freshman in college. She has no student loans so far.
• Children #10–14, to be determined. They range in age from four years old to fifteen. Child number thirteen attends the local public elementary school and is in second grade. He goes there to have some learning disabilities addressed that we are not qualified to handle.
So that’s how it has gone so far. The oldest seven kids are doing great and setting a good example for their younger siblings. Even if we could afford to pay for our kids’ college, we wouldn’t. Sam believes that kids who pay their own way party less and study more than kids whose parents pay. (Rob is proof of that.)
Our son Josh shared that our family’s financial philosophy taught him skills that helped him find a job and be successful as an adult: • How to make big decisions—and small ones too by spending time in front of the Eucharist. • How to be resourceful. There is always another option. • How to be creative when bored. • How to work with all sorts of people with all sorts of skill levels and abilities. • How to work on my own and on a team. • How to research a problem, find solutions, and choose the best one. • How to bargain and negotiate. It doesn’t hurt to ask. • How to have a healthy relationship with money I don’t want to be a slave to it because I have too little or because I’m scared to spend it on what I need. • How to think about short- versus long-term investments. There is no such thing as a “short-term” investment. Invest for the long run. The best short-term investment is to not spend your money in the first place. • How to avoid buying for the wrong reasons. Don’t buy something if you feel forced or pressured; you probably don’t need it. If you do need it, you usually end up paying more than if you planned ahead. • How to comparison shop. Don’t take the first option right away; wait until you have another option to compare and contrast it to. • How to get good deals by buying things out of season, such as buying a swimsuit in January, ski jacket in June, etc. • How to learn more about money. You can always learn more about finances. • How to save by working so many hours that you don’t have the time or energy to spend your money. • How to save on gas. Let Dad drive when your tank is near empty because he’s likely to fill it up for you. • How to find cheap outdoor hobbies like biking, hiking, and camping. • How to find and buy high-quality used name-brand clothing, outdoor gear, and sports equipment. Then resell it for a profit when you’re done or pass it on. I use thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, Goodwill online, Craigslist, eBay, Mercari, and OfferUp.
What’s the Next Step? If you are reading this article the summer after your senior year of high school and are just realizing that there is no magic wand to fix your finances in time for your first semester of college or trade school in the fall, don’t worry. The fact that you are reading this says that you have some important 8 College the Fatzinger Way things going for you. You want an education. And you want to get that education without putting your financial future in jeopardy. In A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More, we have shared our family’s experiences in staying out of debt and saving for the future. None of this happened overnight, and at times we struggled to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. (If you can’t afford your own copy of our book, ask your local library to order it for you.) Do you believe that God has a plan for your life? If you have never asked God what he wants you to do with your life, take that step first. Go and spend some time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Take a notebook and pen, and write down your thoughts and questions. Ask Jesus to speak to your heart and show you the plan he has for you. If your parents are unable to help you plan this next phase of your life, ask God to put good mentors in your path who can assist you. Maybe it will be community college or trade school. Maybe you can become an apprentice or learn on the job. Ask God to guide you, and look expectantly for the doors to open. Start volunteering in an area that interests you. Talk to others who are established in fields you are considering. Above all, pray and ask for wisdom.
We’ll leave you with this passage from the letter of James: Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. (Jas 1:2–6 , NABRE)
Homework • What do you want to do with your life after you finish high school? What interests, activities, or strengths do you see in yourself that might draw you to a particular career path? • What are your most important reasons for choosing a particular college? Are these reasons financially sound? Is this school going to provide a good value for what you want to do in life? • What are three things you can do to strengthen your financial situation so that you can finish your post–high school education with as little debt as possible? (For an explanation of good vs. bad debt, check out the chapter on debt in our book.) • Who are some people you admire who have pursued successful careers and who might be able to give you good advice on the next steps you should take?
