Graduating with Zero Debt

We have been discussing a number of interesting issues on this blog. Every topic discussed is pertaining to students and their education. Irrespective of the number of topics we discuss, a few carry the lime light. Today we have one such article which indeed was pretty interesting. I came across this article in Go College Blog , a marvelous blog & a useful resource to guide students on how to finance and succeed in college. The article I read was actually an interview with a senior at University of Oregon by the name Kai Davis. Now you might be wondering what’s so special about that article, so dear friends behold ….is it not amazing to find somebody graduating without debt….???

I cannot but stop appreciating Kai Davis systematic effort to get rid of his Student Loan Debt. All that he did was, followed certain simple rules which helped him move a mountain with minimum effort. All through his interview he had just one thing to say, it is that by learning to manage your finance you reach your goal without any hassles.

Excerpts from the interview with Kai Davis on Go College Blog

GCB: Did you make it a goal to graduate with zero debt?

Davis: No, it wasn’t ever a plan, but I was able to achieve it. I’ve always felt that having a smaller goal like minimizing my debt would be better than a hard and fast rule of no debt. I’ve found that I’ve made the biggest impact on my savings when I’ve adopted a few small rules.

GCB: How have you been able to graduate with no personal debt?

Davis: I was able to save quite a bit of money by living at home for the first 3 years of college. I’ve worked 20-30 hours each week throughout college, either at work-study jobs or on start-ups with friends.

GCB: Choice of school was critical to your current situation?

Davis: No, not at all. I’m fairly sure that any industrious student can manage their finances well in college if they take the time to learn the system.

GCB: How have you managed to remain on top of credit card debt?

Davis: Every purchase you make on the credit card ends up costing you more to pay it back. I’m not saying don’t make purchases on your credit card – I often do – but be mindful of how long it will take you to pay it back.

For full text log on to Graduate with Zero Debt

Simple Rules for a Zero Debt Scenario

If you are wondering how Kai Davis a college senior could make a zero debt scenario possible? Well here is what he did

• He began focusing at minimizing the debt, which helped him save more
• Credit card usage was limited to earning reward points.
• Used cash wherever possible
• Larger purchases where pushed back on the basis of necessity.
• Worked on cutting down other expenses by living at home and choosing an in state university.
• Concentrated on work and study programs in college campus.
• Took advantage of high interest savings
• Cutting back on planned expense while hitting a cap on monthly budget, instead of using card.
• Made sure Student Loan are ought to be used for the purpose they are specifically for
• Establishing a budget; considering expenses on an average and saving the surplus.
• Maintaining a watch on credit rating while using credit card
• Aiming at better jobs with a degree and better credit with positive credit rating
• Learning to manage finances efficiently, this is a positive step towards future.

These pointers certainly helped Kai Davis in attaining a debt free life. So what about you? When a friend of yours could do it why not you? Plan ahead, plan systematically and remember those little things and work towards it. Any help get back to us and we are here to help you in every effort of yours.

Hope you the loved the post as much as I did, I enjoyed working on this. Pour in your experiences and comments we are all waiting to hear more such success stories.

Happy Learning