I graduated college debt free. Most people would say it’s impossible, but I’m living proof that it’s not! It’s so rare these days that most people I tell my story to don’t believe me. Maybe I should write a book on this haha.
I attended the prestigious University of Washington for four years and graduating without a single dollar of debt. I actually graduated with a large surplus in my checking account! Although it was a lonely, hard road, you too can do it. It takes sacrifice, perseverance, a little creativity, and lots of hard work.
The key is to ignore the people around you. No, no, not like that. I mean ignore what other people are DOING AROUND YOU. This means ignoring friends buying new cars, friends taking out loans for tuition, ignoring friends eating out all the time, and ignoring friends with expensive hobbies. All these things take a significant amount of money. If you don’t have the money to do it, don’t go into debt when you have a tuition bill looming over your head! It’s all about your frame of mind.
If you are focused on the long term goal, which was graduating debt free for me, then the actions of people around you now shouldn’t phase you! If anything this type of thinking should excite you! You’re doing something completely against the “American way” and doing something totally unique. And if anything else, you will have an amazing story to tell your friends, family, and children someday.
These are simple, common steps I took to prevent college debt:
I drove an old car
During my senior year in high school I was blessed with the opportunity to buy a friend’s Geo Prizm for $500. Yes, it was a Geo, you heard me right. My pride is still intact! The key here is to drive a low maintenance vehicle that gets good gas mileage. This is especially crucial if you live off campus and commute.
I lived at home
This is a no-brainer. Free food, free cable, free internet, free EVERYTHING. Thankfully, I am blessed to have been raised in a wonderful family, so living at home was an easy choice for me. Living at home will cut out hundreds of dollars in expenses every month.
I worked A LOT
I did some type of work at least 5 days a week for all four years of college. It seems like I worked everywhere. Let’s look at the laundry list: produce clerk at Safeway, desk manager at a local gym, carpenter, and multiple paid internships.
Ran my own side gigs
The beauty of side gigs is that your pay is significantly higher than typical college jobs. I consistently ran two side gigs, landscaping services and furniture moving services. I made roughly $15/hour mowing lawns, weeding yards, and pruning bushes. I would bring a radio and lanscape away. You can;t be afraid to get your hands dirty! The real money maker for me was furniture relocation. I make $25/hour pretty consistently and never had trouble finding clients for weekend work. I advertised on Craig’s List and even set up my own website. It was a hard way to make money, but you can’t beat $25/hour!
Rarely ate out
I remember time after time, friends asking me to go eat out at restaurants. And I remember time after time saying “No thanks!” I’m sure some thought I was being rude, but I had a goal and a silly thing like eating out was not going to stop me! I packed brown bag lunches and brought snacks from home as many times as I could. Thank you Mom!
I had a cheap hobby
Having a cheap hobby is critical during college. My finances were tight so I didn’t want to get into any expensive hobbies. Mine ended up (and still is) being bodybuilding. Since I worked out at my college gym, it was free. Also, food wasn’t that expensive due to living at home.
Shopped at Ross for clothes
Ross is still my favorite place to shop! When everyone around me was buying $200 designer jeans, I was buying $20 Levi’s. I’ve never been a materialistic person, so maybe that helped. I’m not going to lie, I was definitely tempted at times to buy expensive clothes. To be honest, it’s not worth it. Over the years, I’ve learned that improving your personality is far more important than trying to impress people, let alone, people you don’t even know.
Attended an in-state University
When I was researching colleges, I considered out of state schools. Â But I just couldn’t justify the cost difference. Â University of Washington was $6,000/year where as most out of state schools averaged $20,000/year. Quite the savings huh?
And there you have it guys! These are tried and true ways I graduated college with zero dollars of debt. Â It is possible! Â Comment below if you have more tips.
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Written by Jon the Saver
This post was written by yours truly, Jon Elder. My mission is to help you succeed in your personal finance life. Join me on the journey to financial freedom! You can subscribe through RSS FEED or EMAIL updates. You can also find me on TWITTER
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And THIS is why I love you. Oh, and I like your other pic as your default on here….the one that was taken at my house.
Congrats on getting started on running side businesses during college! I dabbled in selling items on eBay during undergrad, and was able to generate a nice little side income as a result!
Thanks Jacob! It was sooo much freaking work, but so worth being able to pay tuition with cash. I thought about trying the Ebay business but never did. Did you have any luck with that? What was your business model?
I bet! I was lucky enough to have several scholarships in undergrad, so I didn’t have to work in a wage-based job. I think that would have been tough to handle school and that on top of it!
I did the eBay venture for about 1.5 years, and made a decent little chunk of change (about $2500). It was just nice to have some earned income at a young age so that I could get started with my Roth IRA.
I had a state sales tax license that enabled me to approach distributors to get products for resale. My two biggest selling items were bike pedels and alcohol breath testers. I actually stopped because it was getting so hard to make a profit on eBay! It was fun though while it lasted!
Haha, that’s epic, I love the creativity. Only in America can you make a profit off of selling breath testers lol. I know how it feels to have a short time of profits. My furniture moving biz lasted around 4 years and then dried up because of the recession and ridiculously low prices from the competition (illegal Mexicans). BUT, it got the job done and paid for my college, so no regrets there. Well maybe one, my back still hurts haha.
Haha, that’s funny Marilyn. Yah, it’s a lonely road paying for college. Seemed like everyone around me was blowing their cash and I was holding onto mine with my dear life! Student loans are no good!
Inspiring. One thing i do agree most. Don’t mind people around you. Don’t mind them having this and that. Just focus on what you have today and cultivate it for the future. Just simple economics. Buy what you can afford and need.