How to Pay for College With No Money and Without a Trust Fund

How to Pay for College with no Money - College graduate

A Reader asks How to Pay for College With No Money and without a Trust Fund.

Question: My daughter is a senior in high school and is preparing to head off to college. We have no money saved for her college expenses and feel like loans are the only option we have. What should we do?

MoneySmartFamily: You have more options than you realize. Keep reading to learn about several of the easier ones.

1. Get Government Grants

Fill out a FAFSA application – it’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – StudentAid.ed.gov

Do this even if you don’t … Read more »

Free Scholarships & Grants: Find Gold on the College Scholarship Rainbow!

How to find college scholarships - Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Are you looking for free college scholarships and grants? We have tips and tricks to land tons of college money.

This blog presents lots of proven ways to find more scholarship hacks. It shares how to prepare for them and how to win more awards. It’s time to start gathering in scholarship winnings!

What if there really was a pot of scholarship gold waiting for you at the end of the scholarship rainbow.

And what if you KNEW that with some effort, discipline and organizational skills you could find the path that leads to that pile of money. And then, of course, take … Read more »

Reduce College Costs: Things to do in High School to Prepare for College

6 Things High School students can do that will crush the cost of college.

There are six things a teen can do in high school that will help to reduce the cost of a college education. We’ve done many of these with our 5 kids and they graduated college without any student loans!

How can a high schooler start to reduce college costs?

College is a monumental expense for parents and students alike. Who among us is prepared for paying out tens of thousands of dollars over a 4 or 5-year period? However, with any large expense, the more you and your child prepare, the more manageable the expense can be.

We have helped five of our own … Read more »

College Savings: 10 Out of the Box Ways Cut the Cost of Education

College Savings. Out of the box Thinking. Cardboard box with a college mortar board and diploma flying out of it

Are you’re looking for college savings when trying to get a university education? This blog will give you plenty of out of the box and unconventional options for college savings.

If you take to heart just a few of these ideas it could save you $10,000 or more.

The college landscape is changing so rapidly that savings can be found in the most unusual places. Especially if you’re willing to research and question conventional thinking and dig a little deeper.

This is blog #5 in our College Savings Series. Scroll to the bottom of this page for links to the entire series.

College Prices … Read more »

7 Ways to Destroy Debt Even If You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck

7 Ways to Destroy Debt - Even when Living Paycheck to Paycheck!

Accumulating debt has become a common occurrence in most families – but paying off debts, even on a low income has become an achievable goal for visitors to our website. If you are looking for ways to destroy debt forever, then this article will encourage, equip and empower you!

Debt Free on a Small Income. On an average household income of less than $45,000, we’ve avoided debt and been able to pay off our home mortgages in record time. To do it, we’ve used many of the methods described in this blog. Follow these 7 Steps and you could be debt-free too!

Accumulating Debt is … Read more »

Persistence Pays

Is it just us, or are you finding it takes more follow-up phone calls to get even little things done these days? Years ago, we could make one phone call, maybe two, and get a question answered or a sticky situation ironed out. Today, it takes dogged determination and a computer tracking system to help us follow up on long drawn-out tasks.

 Here are some recent examples.

Congressional Red Tape   Daughter Becky is going to receive her bronze and silver medals from the Congressional Award organization. It’s a personal development, physical fitness and community service award for … Read more »

College Wrap-Up

University awards certificates for academic achievement.

We have some of the most generous readers in the world! In response to our articles, “10 Ways to Find Big College Savings” and “Paying for College without a Trust Fund,” we received a couple of thoughtful and very helpful letters. We couldn’t possibly cover every aspect of getting through and paying for college in a couple of articles, so here is our College Wrap-up.

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast 

Deirdre Collins has been a community college instructor in California for 20 years. Here’s what she shared regarding having a part-time job and going to school:

Read more »

Clues For Cutting College Costs

College text books covered by an orange pennant to save 87%.

This summer, we were asked by a local Fox TV station to participate in several segments that addressed saving on back-to-school expenses —including college costs. During our research for the segments, we uncovered some new information not included in our earlier articles on College savings.

The average college student is now graduating with $20,000 worth of debt. Most graduates take 10 years or more to pay it off. If you spend a little time applying for scholarships and shopping carefully for books, you can trim or eliminate any borrowing. This past year our daughter Becky graduated with … Read more »

Kids, College and Debt Free Living – Good Morning Arizona

good morning arizona logo

In this two-part interview, Good Morning Arizona anchor Kaley O’Kelley talks with Steve, Annette, Abbey and Joe Economides about how to be a MoneySmart Family.

Plus, at the bottom of the page, we’ve also included a list of things parents should never pay for.

Part 1 covers College Expenses

How to go to college debt free.
Where to look for scholarships.
How to find huge discounts on textbooks.

Part 2 covers how to start training kids to manage money.

How young to start
How to set up a system that is better than an allowance.
What an 18-year-old money-smart kid looks like.

Parents are going broke raising their kids

PHOENIX — … Read more »

KSAZ TV Fox — Arizona Morning – Cutting College Costs

Fox10 logo

The average college student is graduating with $20,000 worth of debt.

Most graduates take 10 years or more to pay it off. If you spend a little time applying for scholarships you can trim or eliminate what you need to borrow.

There are always ways to save on college costs from scholarships to lodging to books. We cover lots of these strategies in our January, February, and April 2005 back issues.

1) Financial Aid — get thousands even now

FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid www.fafsa.ed.gov. This is a two-step process: First, you’ll also want to register for PIN number, which will take … Read more »

College Ideas & Money Saving Tips

College Tips Money Saving Super Page.

This College Money Saving Tips & Ideas  Page contains a growing number of money saving ideas for cutting the cost of a attending a University/ College and getting a higher education!

In addition to the reader-submitted tips on this page, we’ve written a 5 part series on how to save a ton of money on college expenses.

Read all of the Debt Free College Blog Series Here:

6 Ways High Schoolers can Crush College Costs
How to Get Your Student Loans Forgiven
Is There Gold at the End of the Scholarship Rainbow? Hack!
How to Maximize FAFSA and Pell Grant Money!
10 … Read more »

College Textbook Savings Page

A super page full of college textbook moneysaving tips and hacks.

This College Textbook Savings page contains a growing number of money saving ideas for cutting the cost of books for higher education!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 College Textbook Buyback Strategy2 More College Textbook Saving Ideas3 College Textbook Savings – International Editions4 Ways to Save on College Textbooks – Video5 Don’t Pay Retail for College Textbooks6 Used College Textbooks7 Renting College Textbooks8 E-Textbook Discounts9 Libraries Have Copies10 Buying Textbooks Smarter by Timing the Market
College Textbook Buyback Strategy

For college textbook savings for our daughter, we’ve used Amazon.com. We have found … Read more »

How to Get The Most FAFSA Money and Pell Grant Awards

Maximize FAFSA and Pell Grant Money.

If you want to legitimately get the most FAFSA money for your college education, follow these tips and tricks. You’ll get maximum federal student aid in Pell Grants by following our research when you fill out your FAFSA application.

Debt-Free College Series # 4 – FAFSA and Financial Aid

We have  5 kids who have attended college, and we have filled out FAFSA applications with every single one of them.

As a matter of fact, we’ve filled out the FAFSA application several times with each of them.

In the process, we’ve learned several tips from our own experience and from financial aid experts.

In this blog, … Read more »

Should You Buy Your Teenager a Car? This Dad Gave a 1965 Mustang!

Have you wondered if you should give your teen a car?

Are other parents in your area doing it and you’re getting pressure from your child?

Should Parents Give A Car to a Teen?

Is it MoneySmart to give your kids a car and a computer?

One dad thinks so.

We didn’t give any of our kids a car. But we did help them save and shop and buy their first cars for cash.

When we heard about this dad who gave his teenager a 1965 Mustang, we thought he’d lost his mind.

Why We Think This Dad is MoneySmart

The dad of the family wrote the … Read more »

Website Interviews & Articles with Steve & Annette Economides

We’ve done hundreds of website interviews on all kinds of websites

Hope you find these blogs/ Articles helpful.

BadCredit – Review of Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half Book #2

Bankrate – 6 Easy Ways to Become a Frugal Car OwnerBankrate – 10 Grocery Saving Secrets from Supermarket InsidersBankrate – 11 ideas for Frugal EntertainmentBankrate – Downsize Your Costs in 4 Weeks

DivineCaroline.com – Grocery Shopping for the Frugal Family

Dollar Stretcher – An Introduction to Cooking with SpicesDollar Stretcher –Be a … Read more »

Money Smart Kids Financial Training Kit – Info Page

The Money Smart Kids Financial Training KitTrains Kids To Be Financially Independent.

This is a kid-tested money management system that works! Since 1995 our kids and thousands of others have been the “test market” for this system. It has been improved, streamlined, and made super-effective.

(You can watch a video (below) from one of our first TV interviews when our kids were very young.

Listen to them talk about their money and their goals – it’s really interesting).

NOTE: Parental Involvement Required

Many parents are looking for a Money Smart Financial Training Kit or system that they … Read more »

Experian CreditChat Interviews with Steve & Annette Economides

Experian Logo

Experian is one of the 3 major credit reporting agencies in the U.S. Over the years we have met several really neat people who work there. We’ve participated in a number of their weekly CreditChat video Roundtables. 

This page contains several of these interviews.

How to Save Money on Groceries

 

In this Experian CreditChat we answer these Grocery Shopping Questions.

Questions We Discussed:
Q1: What are some common mistakes people make when it comes to buying groceries for the week?

Q2: What are some best practices when budgeting for groceries?

Q3: Are there different rules of thumb for saving on produce, meat,
etc?

Q4: What advice do you … Read more »

Free Stickers! 190 Tested & Easy Ways to Get Stickers Mailed To You

A mac laptop with free stickers on it.

Are you looking for free stickers? Do you want name-brand stickers from companies you, or your kids love? We do!

At MoneySmartFamily we love free stuff. Especially free things that our kids love or that can be given as gifts.

We’ve researched hundreds of companies and created this easy-to-use list. We update it every few weeks to keep it current and to make sure all of the sites still offer free stickers. 

108 Companies with sticker request forms on site. (page 1)

28 places to send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) (page 2)

19 places with a … Read more »

34 of the Best Free Educational Websites for Kids

29 Free Educational Websites for Kids including science, history, reading, math, news, coding and more!

If you’re looking for great websites to enhance your child’s learning you’re going to love this list of the best free educational websites for kids.

It can sometimes be hard to find the ideal balance of fun and learning. The challenge might seem daunting, but have no fear the perfect learning website is out there.

Just check out this list of fun and information-filled sites to find the right website for you and your kids!

We’ve put this list into 7 different categories to make your search easier. See the table of contents for details.

A Directory of Free Educational Websites

Preschool – Watch, … Read more »