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The current United States student loan debt is $1,310,760,621,718; this is not a typo. You need to be informed before your debt gets added onto the pile. Every second, approximately $3,055 is piled onto what is an already enormous pile of debt. In fact, student loan debt exceeds credit card debt. Crazy right?

 

If you were asking yourself how this happened, you might say that it occurred because the United States has fallen into a short-term downtrend or that kids are vacillating between choices and hence are acting indecisively. While these may be contributing factors, there is one to rule them all: a lack of preparation and knowledge on how to handle potential debt. Every article, I will bestow upon you two pieces of crucial information that you should know until I have exhausted my knowledge and research. These tips will be geared towards people who are planning to work during college, which is very highly recommended for the experience and the improvement of work ethic, and to create a savings account (this will be for another time).

 

Firstly, have a joint-state corporation program in which the corporation funds half your educational cost while it employs you in its internship program. You gain work experience while you are studying your way into higher positions in college. Sometimes, your company may offer a full tuition. If you are wondering how this works, companies gain a plethora of benefits, tax breaks, and more by sponsoring kids’ futures. Imagine cutting your educational cost in half? However, some companies may not allow this or offer a much lower helping, but everything counts; moreover, since you now know this, it would be wise to look for a college or job beforehand that offers a large helping to pay off your tuitions and fees.

Secondly, an amazing fact that is perhaps one of the least known is that, when employed, your employer can put 10% of your gross income to your college debt or tuition (if you don't have debt) without taxation. To clarify, your employer cannot deny this right from you; if you as a student ask for it, they must abide. Similar to a 401k plan or a retirement fund, the real important part of this is that you do not pay tax on this income when it goes straight to paying off loans or tuitions. In contrast, if you were to assume the income before, you would have to pay 12% Social Security tax and around 15% more for other various taxes. Imagine you earn $2,000; you could either put $200 to your bills directly or accept $2,000*.88*.85 or $1496 and then pay your loan.

 

If you are serious about success in college, you need to get serious now.