Regularly I get emails from other websites inviting me to promote their site.  I rarely take them up on the offer. 

When I do, it is my policy to make full disclosure to my readers how I came across the site.

Today GoCollege.com asked me to mention their “Student’s Guide to Personal Finance.”  I scanned through the guide and found some interesting thoughts and statistics. 

Here is one:

Today’s plastic-based society means that both credit and debit cards are easy to come by and easy to use. The reason that these cards are so easy to use is that a large number of people want the opportunity to claim some of your future earnings.

The rationale is quite simple. As long as you owe them money, they in essence, own a piece of you and your future.

It is interesting to think of my debt as someone’s claim on my future income.  That’s exactly what it is, but I don’t often think of it in those terms.

Another interesting statistic:

“As of 2004, undergraduates had an average credit card debt balance exceeding $2,100.”

Note that this is credit card debt only.  Many students have other loans as well.

I consider myself very fortunate to have graduated with zero debt, credit card or otherwise.  In fact, through scholarships I was able to come out several thousand dollars ahead. 

I was even more fortunate to finish a master’s degree with zero debt.  I was the beneficiary of fellowships that paid me while I studied.  I have been grateful every day of my life for my good fortune.

By the time I finished graduate school, I had a new sedan and some $15,000 in the bank. 

Then I went to Stanford Law School.  All the money was gone when I paid first semester’s tuition.  I’ve had student loan debt ever since.

Finally, let me mention one other quote from the site that is consistent with my own experience:

When it comes to financial aid, we turn to the words of Kalman A. Chany:

“The theory is that money goes to the people who need it,” Chany tells Newsday.com. “The reality is that money goes to the people who best understand the process.”

I had many hard-working, needy, deserving friends in college.  Some of them had scholarships, but most did not.  Few of them took the time to understand the process.  My own experience says that taking the time to understand the process is well worth the effort.