Student loans

Did you know that student loans are one of very few kinds of debt that can't be discharged in bankruptcy?  As in, you're so poor and in so much debt, that you can't afford to make the minimum payments, or it's seriously affecting your life (or both), and decide that filing for bankruptcy is your only recourse.  Sucks for you, though.  That magical wad of cash the school gave you to blow on booze and books?  Yeah, you still gotta pay that back.  Doesn't matter what the government says.  The school's still got your balls in a vice.  Or your ovaries.  Whatever, anatomy isn't my strong suit.

I'm against debt in general, unless it's positive debt.  For me, positive debt falls into one of two categories:
1) Borrowing money to fund the purchase of something you need, such as a car or a house, and it's not reasonable to expect someone to have that amount of cash on hand.
2) Money used to invest in something, where the returns are worth getting into debt and having to pay back a bunch of interest.  Investing in yourself, such as taking accounting or welding classes, or getting a degree in something that will most likely get you a decent job; falls into this category.

Of course, if you can save up to pay for a house in cash, that's always the best scenario, but not likely to happen.

Anyway, when I started college back in 2004, I promised myself I wouldn't take out student loans.  Mostly because I was scared of not being able to pay them back if I couldn't find a job.  Eventually I realized I would be unable to continue without some kind of funding, so I joined the military.

Well, I'm out now, and I recently started school again, thanks to the magic of the GI Bill.  School is 100% paid for, though my other expenses are not, for the moment, due to a lengthy paperwork snafu, so I have to get a job on the side to pay rent and stuff.  But, if you've been following my blog, you'll know that I managed to save up a bunch of money in the last few years of service, and even if I don't find a job, I'll have some savings to fall back on.

Even though I was a linguist in the military, and thought I'd do it for life, the universe had other plans for me.  I got really good at giving people financial advice, and my friends advised me (heh heh, get it?) that I should do it in a professional capacity.  So when I was nearing the exit, I thought seriously about it, and decided that it'd be a good idea.

So I enrolled in California State University near beautiful San Diego, and I'm pursuing a degree in Finance.  The plan is now to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).  We'll see how that goes.  I have 2 to 2.5 years left in school, and I'm relatively certain the economy (and therefore the job market) will be in a good place when I finish.