How do you afford it? Graduate or continuing ed... financial aide?

Well thought out and executed you could likely accomplish your goals at a school like UofA for little more than the amount of a PELL grant (over 2-3 years). You seem to gung ho to slow down and listen.

 

No Im not. Im gung ho because I want to get it done. But no one has really given me any ways around student loan debt. I mean, i have to be realistic in what I can afford, and right now thats nothing. BUT, Im always open to advice/suggestions/help that those with more experience in these matters can offer.

 

I am going to do the same as several posters above me. One or two classes at a time and pay out of pocket. It will probably take me 5 years to obtain my bachelor degree, but I'm in no hurry, and don't want any debt.

 

NM...I sent you a PM

 

Got them all

 

Avoid student loans. Period. I know so many people that have student loans and it is crippling their life 15-20 years after the fact. Seriously. I know someone who's had their loan in some type of deferment for 7 out of 12 years and the other 5 his was making minimum payments.

I would put any masters on hold and have you and/or husband get a better job with your BA and save money for the MA. One of you needs to get a good money making bachelors degree (aka non-liberal arts degree).

 

College degrees are not a sure fire way to make money. Trust me. I have had a decent career and have only recently had a bachelors degree, much less an MBA. I am now working on a PhD but my formal education has nothing at all to do with my ability to command a decent salary. My PhD might actually hamper my ability to qualify for some jobs.

 

One class at a time. Yardsales, ebay, craigslist...sell whatever and scrimp. If I could live in Boston for less $ than the cost of my tuition, I'd try to get a job at Harvard! For now, I think it's cheaper for me to shell out $2k per course twice a year.

 

Pick something I can afford and pay out of pocket. Also using Indiana's 529 plan which has a 20% credit per year up to $1000 credit. Employer also has a $1000 reimbursement. These aren't much but every bit helps.

 

I'm going to dig up my link- it's about negative return on investment at college. In other words, NOT attending and simply flipping burgers puts you ahead of earning a degree at many schools.

As a homeschool mom, I appreciate NM's problems- we have them too- but it can be done. Both dh and I earned BA degrees in about 2 years and total out of pocket combined was under 10k

To quote my favorite money guru: "you can not borrow your way out of debt"