GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE DEBT-FREE?

(From the Wall Street Journal):

It’s Possible to Graduate Debt-Free. Here’s How

by Rebekah Bell

In 2009, when I was applying to my dream college, my parents had one stipulation: graduate without debt. I burst out laughing.

There was no feasible way that a middle-class 19-year-old with average grades could attend a college with a price tag of nearly $40,000 a year without taking out loans. But now that I’ve graduated loan-free, I realize how lucky I am that my parents made this seemingly ridiculous demand.

Figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveal that 37 million Americans have student loan debt. About two-thirds of students receiving bachelor’s degrees borrow to fund their education, with the average student debt at an all-time high of $26,000. Total student-loan debt is estimated to be $1 trillion. READ MORE HERE