The CLASSIC student loan story

When I wrote a book about student loans, I never expected the sort of backlash that has occurred. How can so many people misinterpret my message? Or worse yet, how could so many people judge a book by its cover, literally? For someone who HATES drama, I found myself in several heated debates over the last couple of weeks. My favorite was a debate with a man that chose to debate the author of a book that he hadn't read. He accused the content of being fraudulent and undoable. Huh? Sigh.

Anyway. The book isn't about avoiding college. It's about avoiding student loans. I encourage you to pickup a copy for your favorite high school student. No seriously, buy the book. Why? Well, I'll let Sally tell you. Thanks to my Google Alerts (which tells me when people mention my name in cyberspace), I found this post by a blogger named Sally. Go to her blog to read the whole thing, but here is a crucial excerpt. The post is titled A Student Loan Story: In Defense of Pete The Planner’s Stance on Student Loans.

I changed my major 4 times while in college, and it took me 5 years to finish school. Most of my peers were the same way. I worked a part-time job all through college and that money was used to supplement what student loans and credit cards didn’t cover. I graduated, and despite my best efforts, I was unable to find a job in my field. Knowing I had student loan payments coming up in 6 months, I took a job with Verizon Wireless as a customer service representative. I made $12.00 and hour and received benefits. I was in heaven with my $25,000 a year job.

I was clearing about $1,600 a month after taxes. I set myself up with a nice little apartment and started assimilating into the adult world. I wasn’t making much money, but I was doing well enough to provide for myself. I thought I had it made.

“Bring on the student loan payments!”, I thought. “I can afford loan payments!”

I got my first student loan bill in the mail December 2007. I opened it expecting an affordable bill. The reality was much different…

Amount due by January 2008: $600.12

Then came the bill from SallieMae.

Amount due by January 2008: $200.34

This is why you must avoid student loans. You don't have to put yourself in a terrible financial situation upon graduation. Read the rest of Sally's post to get the whole story. Oh, and buy the book.