WEBVTT - Is College Worth It? #139 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.680 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:24.640 and today we're discussing is college worth it? It's college 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:28.360 worth it? Man? That is a controversial question, wouldn't you 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.240 say so? Yeah? I think in today's day and age, 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:32.879 so people are like college for some folks at the end, 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:35.959 all be y'all, it's necessary. How could you even think 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:38.280 about not going to college? But then we've also seen 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:40.920 what it's done to people. It's almost with mounting student 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.160 loans and stuff like that, and it's become a burden 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:44.599 on a lot of people's backs. At the same time, 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.080 I feel like it's almost the sacred cow where it's like, 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.040 don't you dare question college? Like you know that there's 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:52.560 benefit to it. And that's the thing. We're not gonna 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:55.320 say that there isn't a benefit with going to college, right, 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:56.880 But the question that we're going to try to answer 0:00:57.000 --> 0:00:59.400 is is it actually worth it? Because there are some 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:01.400 drawbacks it comes to going to college, we're gonna cover 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.160 those and we're gonna mention some factors to consider when 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:06.080 you aren't trying to decide whether or not to go 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:08.560 to college, whether or not to pursue that higher degree 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.039 and we know that our audience is in all fifteen 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:13.560 and sixteen year old Matt, So this episode is going 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.360 to be applicable for people thinking about going back and 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:20.960 getting another degree, yeah, nba, yeah, getting some higher education, like, 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.160 well is that meaningful? Will that actually help me? Or 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:26.240 for parents of kids who are looking to steer their 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:28.400 kids towards an intelligent decision. I think a lot of 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:29.880 the stuff we're gonna cover here is gonna be good 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.759 food for thought as you're having those discussions, because that's 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:34.400 one thing that a lot of parents have a lot 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:36.640 of trouble doing, is starting that conversation with their kid 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.119 or letting them down when it comes to hey, actually 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:40.839 that's gonna cost too much and it's gonna be bad 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:42.520 for you in the end. But hold up, we're gonna 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.600 talk more about that actually later on too. Yes, yes, 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:47.520 all right, so but before we get to that, Matt, 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:49.200 I wanted you to see this thing I got in 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.080 the mail for my Niecean Leaf. It was just this 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.320 quick little mailer, and dude, it was kind of ridiculous. 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:58.400 This ominous looking mailer that is trying silly looking. It 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:00.840 kind of silly looking, and really, ultimately, what is trying 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.000 to do, is is trying to sell me an extended 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:05.920 warranty from my car, And it says, in this kind 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.560 of legally sort of type, this notice is to inform 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.200 you that your niece on leaf is in need of 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:15.080 vehicle protection in order to ensure it's continued safe operation. 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.120 It says, our records indicate that you have not contacted 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:21.120 us to have your auto warranty activated. By neglecting to 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.160 activate your coverage today, you assume responsibility for paying repairs 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.680 in full out of pocket. Call Now it's it's just hype, 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:29.480 and it would be enough to scare a lot of 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.280 people into calling the number, paying the money and getting 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:35.480 some sort of who knows whether it's even a good 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:37.560 car warranty. It could be some third party trying to 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:39.920 sudd me something that's complete trash. Almost guarantee it's to 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:43.760 not be a good policy based on their marketing tactics. 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:45.359 The way it's written, it almost makes it sound like 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:47.240 that literally, like the tires are gonna fall off from 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:49.760 car right if you don't mail that thing back to them. Yes, 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:52.000 safe operation of your vehicle isn't gonna happen if you 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:53.760 don't call us number, like your brakes might give out 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.040 if you don't send us back. Who knows. And I 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:57.560 know most of us are used to getting less and 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:00.280 less stuff in the mail and something like that. We 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:02.120 most of us see that and we kind of know 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:04.639 it's ridiculous. But that's the kind of stuff that's that's 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:06.480 the kind of over the top ways that people are 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.600 trying to sell you things these days, and in particular, 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.400 something that's completely unnecessary or potentially completely worthless. And we 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:16.160 haven't really talked about car warranties on the show before Matt, 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:17.720 and it's something that we should cover at some point, 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.160 but for the most part in particular, third party car 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:25.680 warranties are almost always worthless. Yeah, man, you know what 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:27.919 it makes me think of as well is private mortgage 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.359 life insurance. So if you've ever purchased a home, right 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:33.720 after you close on your home, no kidding, like a 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:37.400 week later, you'll start receiving these mailers and they'll have 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.880 the logo of your lender or the bank that you 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.080 went with, and you think, oh, this looks like something 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:44.800 I need to definitely look at, and they're basically trying 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.200 to sell you life insurance and it's crappy. Life insurance 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.600 is because it's life insurance that's typically way overpriced, and 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:55.520 it's a policy that directly goes towards the lender. Actually, yes, exactly, 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:57.920 bypasses your family and it just takes scare of the 0:03:57.920 --> 0:04:00.120 bank so that your family, I guess they can in 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:01.720 the house because the home will be paid for at 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:04.680 that point. Right, but typically, but it's terrible. But basically 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.880 you are paying money every single month to ensure the lender, 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.920 not yourself, and it's I mean, it's just absurd insurance. 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.840 But you get all these the same thing. It's final notice, 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.279 and it's totally that fear marketing where they're praying on 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:21.200 you not knowing exactly what's going on, and you think, oh, 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:22.920 you know, maybe I can afford to pay a couple 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:25.120 hundred bucks a month just so I don't have to 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:27.359 worry about this thing anymore. Well, that's not something that 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:29.560 we would at all recommend. So make sure that you're 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.039 paying close attention to what's showing up in your mailbox. Yeah, 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:34.720 when in doubt, throw it out and just put it 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.800 in the trash recycling. Is that a saying okay, yeah, 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.600 I've heard of the round filing cabinet, right, like the 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.960 trash can. Oh yeah, it's like classic office talk. Let 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:48.400 me just file that in the round the color file there. Yeah, 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.360 circular file tells you how long it's been since I've 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.200 been in a corporate environment. You don't make those jokes 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.400 to yourself when you're working alone every day. Nope, not 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:58.920 at all. Kate's like, why is he giggling in there? 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:00.960 You must have told himself in the funny jokes. I 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:04.200 think Matt's at the water cooler by himself. All right, 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.200 let's mention the beer that we're having on the show today. 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:10.159 The kind folks at Saint Archer Brewing out of California 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:12.240 have sent us a couple of beers to have on 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:15.120 the show, and this one is their Mexican lagger. So 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.920 I'm excited to try this one. This is most definitely 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:19.800 a style that we've never had on the show before, 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:23.960 most associated with beers like Corona, right right. Yeah, But 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:25.800 there are some good Mexican loggers out there, man, And 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:27.320 if I had to think that some good ones, if 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.000 I had, if I had to pick my favorite right 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.480 off top of my head, Negro Modelo. That is such 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:33.840 a good Mexican logger. I'm a huge fan. But it's 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.080 just not something to be in the mood for it though, right, Yeah, 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:37.880 it's yeah, But yeah, I'm excited to have a Mexican 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.039 logger because it's not a style that we try often. 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:41.480 And you know what, you and I we've been getting 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:43.600 more and more into laggers, because that is true. They 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.520 do have a completely different feel on your palette. And 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.360 we're usually drinking just incredibly hopped up or fruited up 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.839 beers or bourbon merril aged. I was like, they're drinking 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:56.360 another hazy I p a right boy. Right, So you 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:58.480 know we're dialing back, going a little more chill today 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:00.800 with this beer variety. It's important. It's the spice of life, 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:02.280 That's what they say, all right, Joel, you want to 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:04.279 kick off the topic for this episode. Yeah, onto the 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:06.880 subject at Handmatt. We're talking about is college worth it? 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.960 The price of college has gotten steep and the return 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:12.840 on investment isn't as clear cut as it was decades ago, 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.279 So it does beg the question. I feel like we 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.120 have to discuss this topic. Is college worth it? Is 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:21.039 getting a degree from a traditional academic institution the best 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:24.040 course for high school kids going forward? Well, I think 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:26.080 there's a lot of nuance in the conversation, Matt that 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:27.760 needs to be had, Like we touched on at the 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:29.479 beginning of the show, and we'll touch on some of 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:32.080 those important things that you need to consider before you 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:33.560 decide to go back to school or as you have 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.200 that conversation with your high school or employers even see 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:37.760 how bad it is, Matt. I just saw an article 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.520 in the Wall Street Journal saying that in the last 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.960 couple of years, basically the number of employers offering student 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:46.440 loan assistance has doubled. Essentially, they see the problem that's 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:49.600 happening with their employees and it's affecting how they do 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.479 their jobs, even having higher levels of student loan debt. 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.040 And so employers are incentivizing their employees to pay down 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.359 their student loans by contributing more to their retirement accounts 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.760 if they will up the amount that they're paying towards 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.000 their student loans. There are cool ways that employers are 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.599 helping tackle this problem. But it is a problem, right 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:08.520 And if you just look at a simple inflation chart 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.240 over the past twenty or thirty years, you'll see so 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:13.520 many things have gone down in price in our country. 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.040 The price of groceries or the price of TVs and 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.600 stuff like that. Consumer goods have have fallen off a 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:21.200 cliff really in large part, but the cost of healthcare 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:25.280 in particular and college have risen just immensely and it's 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:27.800 almost become unaffordable for a lot of people. Yeah, man, 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.640 it is insane. And let me tell you another insane number. 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:34.400 The total outstanding student loan debt totals now over one 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:37.400 point six trillion dollars. Do you just think of the 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:40.920 staggering effect that this is having on our generation. Folks 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.680 are possibly delaying marriage or you know, buying a home 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:45.800 and even having kids. It's crazy to think of the 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:49.160 financial sort of ramifications that it's having on just sort 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:53.680 of our lifestyle. Yeah, it's had a massive cultural influence because, yeah, 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.400 the debt that people have taken on, it just basically 0:07:56.480 --> 0:08:00.000 prolongs adolescence and moving into adulthood is something that will 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.520 lot of people want, right they want to own their 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:04.280 own home, or they want to start a family, or 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:06.520 they want to get married, but they feel like, because 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:08.480 of the student loan debt, that they're riddled with their 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.040 unable to do that. Yeah. Yeah, essentially it makes it 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:12.840 even more difficult to kind of move on to that 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.600 next stage in life. And as bad as that situation is, 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:17.960 let me tell you just like an even worse case scenario, 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:20.760 which is the student loans without a degree to show 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.800 for it. That can put you in a really difficult 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:27.880 position of having loan payments without that increased income possibilities. 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:29.920 So a quick word to the wise, make sure that 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:33.319 you are working hard while you're in school and don't 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:36.200 drop out. Yeah, yeah, that is literally when you look 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.439 at the biggest issues with student loans that people are having, 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:43.040 the people that are most affected by increased student loan 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.560 debt are the people that don't have a degree and 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.160 don't have increased income to go along with that, but 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:50.040 they do have the student loans, but they have the 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.680 student loan still, so they're still typically stuck making a 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.640 lower wage, but they're also saddled with more monthly debt payments. 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.400 So it's really tough. But let's get onto some good news, Matt. 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:02.600 The stats also show that college is worth it for 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.520 most people. A college degree will typically result in higher 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.319 lifetime earnings. The median income of someone with a high 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:12.200 school degree is only forty bucks, while it's seventy eight 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.560 thousand for someone with a college degree. So even with 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:18.880 these massive student loan debt payments, the discrepancy clearly means 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:22.480 that a college degree is helpful in your lifetime earning power, 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.720 and the more you earn, the more you can save 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.120 and invest. So I think that's something really important to note. 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:29.560 Is we're not going to be bashing college here, and 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:31.959 I think ultimately we're gonna come down somewhere in the middle. 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.160 But it's really important to note that if you do 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.000 complete the degree and it helps you find a better 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:40.920 paying job, that going to college can be worthwhile for 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:43.000 for lots of folks. Yeah, and another reason we're not 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:45.440 going to bash college is because you won't even have 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:49.000 a shot at many jobs without getting a college degree. 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:51.680 If you have hopes and dreams of a specific career, 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:53.720 make sure that you know what sort of education that 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:58.319 career requires, you know, if any, before taking expensive courses. 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.920 That being said, even with the planning, almost three out 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:05.119 of four graduates they work in a field completely unrelated 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:07.520 to their degree, and so in this case, you'll need 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:11.000 to decide for yourself if the sort of secondary benefits 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:13.400 of higher education are still going to be worth it 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.200 to you. You know, we'll get to some of those 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.840 intangible you know what we'd call like sort of bonus 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.640 benefits a little later on in the show. Ultimately, once 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:22.600 you know the career path you'd like to pursue, be 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:24.760 sure and keep that end goal in mind. If you 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:26.679 don't do well in school and you graduated at the 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:28.800 bottom of your class, that can make it more difficult 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:30.760 to get into grad school if that's your ultimate goal. 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:32.760 And even if it just takes you a little bit 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.960 longer to graduate, well, you're accruing more debt along the 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:39.000 way while you're in college, and then you're delaying the 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.320 benefits of having that degree at the same time. So 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.440 if it takes you five or six or seven years, 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.640 which is not uncommon these days, to graduate from college, 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.920 you're accruing more debt along the way, you're adding to 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.240 your student loan debt burden, and at the same time, 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.880 you're delaying the start of your career, which is the 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:55.600 time where you're gonna be able to start paying that 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:58.240 debt off. So it's important to stay focused while you're 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.240 in school because the quicker you can get that agreed, 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.440 that's gonna help get you on the road, get you 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:05.559 to that place of essentially starting a career. Well, that's 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:07.679 going to make a huge difference, because the longer you take, 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:09.920 the less it makes sense to actually go to school. Yeah, 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.640 and to prove that we're not hating on college completely, Joel, 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:14.680 let me ask you a question. Do you regret going 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:16.959 to college. I do not regret going to college. I'm 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:19.600 so I'm so glad I did proof, but I will 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:21.680 say I will say I might have a different spin 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.480 if I had a hundred thousand dollars and student loans 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.760 on my back, and I was I was fortunate. I 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:30.040 went to a private school for the first two years. Yeah, 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:32.600 and when you know, it wasn't a really great private school. 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:35.400 Pretty much anybody can get in there. But you know, 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.760 I racked up about thirteen dollars worth of student loan 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:40.920 debt there and I decided on purpose to come back 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:43.640 to my home state because there was In Georgia, we 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:45.800 have the Hope Scholarship, and other states have something similar. 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.000 You're out of state, Yeah, we talked. We talked about 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:52.440 this before Tennessee, New York. Other states have these awesome 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.760 benefits for for folks to get a college degree for free, 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:57.800 and the Hope scholarship still offered in the state of Georgia. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:11:59.920 I think it's changed a little bit since I went, 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.280 But basically I could go to school for free, and 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:04.080 uh and so I came back and I decided that, 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:05.640 you know what, thirteen thousand dollars was all I was 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:08.120 going to accrue and got the rest of my education 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.439 for free. But I might feel different about my education 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:12.800 if I had a hundred thousand dollars in student loan 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:15.480 debtor or some or anywhere close to that. What about 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:17.480 you know, I don't regret it at all, man, Yeah, 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:19.600 totally worth it. This is the kind of thing where 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:22.600 maybe when I was younger, I would have said that, yeah, 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:24.480 I didn't need to go to college, Like in your youth, 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:27.640 you say things where you regret because you've gotten older 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:30.120 and wiser. Teenage ast yeah, well not teenage, but I 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.040 mean in your twenties, you know, like early twenties I was. 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:33.600 I've mentioned this before. I think I was kind of 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.480 brain damaged until I turned twenty three years old. But 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:40.000 even around twenty three and twenty six, I remember thinking, man, 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:41.680 I didn't need to go to college, like what I 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.400 am doing now. I didn't go to school four necessarily 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:46.400 it was somewhat related, but it was along a very 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:49.040 different path than what I had gone to school. Four, 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.520 Like we said earlier, three out of four graduates are 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.160 you know, working in the field completely unrelated to the 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:56.040 you know what they got their degree. And that's where 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:57.680 I was. I was in my mid twenties. I was 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:00.280 doing something that I felt I could have done actually 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.920 straight out of college. But with there being more time 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:05.120 between then and now, I've learned that there are a 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.560 lot of additional benefits, a lot of things that I learned, 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:10.439 a lot of things I gained through college other than 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:14.320 that specific bachelor's degree that I received. Yeah, you know, sometimes, Matt, 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.920 I feel like college acts as like one of those 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:19.160 gates that you pull your car up to. You gotta 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:21.080 insert the ticket, you gotta pay your money, the gate 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:22.880 opens up in your you can take your car out 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:25.240 of the parking garage. I feel like college is often 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:27.480 something kind of similar. It's it's not that you don't 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:29.920 learn useful skills, and it's not that you don't make 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.800 useful connections. That's certainly true in college. I I think 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:35.320 I learned useful things, But at times it can feel 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.120 like it's some of the things that I actually needed 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:39.920 to learn though to do my current job. I learned 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:42.560 upon my internship, like that was actually more of an 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:46.160 education for me than my college classes at times. And 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:48.200 so I think sometimes it can feel like it's just 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:50.040 that gate. You have to pay the money in order 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:52.320 to get through this hurdle so that you can apply 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.880 for certain jobs that are otherwise off limits to you. 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:56.920 So I think that's one aspect that needs to be 0:13:56.960 --> 0:13:59.280 mentioned in regards to college, that sometimes it is like 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:01.839 just this barrier to entry and if you don't have 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.040 the degree, well you're not going to get into that 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:07.080 career that you're aspiring to. But really, Matt, the costs 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:08.520 are at the heart of this. That is a huge 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:10.320 part of it. The shows how the money we talk 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.720 about money and the costs associated with going to school 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:14.600 are a huge thing that needs to be considered in 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:16.600 this debate. Is college worth it? And we'll get to 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:27.640 that right after the break. All right, Joe, we are 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:29.720 back from the break, and we're asking the question is 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:32.320 college worth it? And e t s to the cost 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.280 of college? That is an important consideration. We're going to 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.800 talk about the money. Now, going to college doesn't mean 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:40.160 that you have to graduate up to your eyeballs in debt. 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.960 There are a lot of different options than taking on 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:44.880 massive amounts of student loan. You can go to a 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.840 community college for the first two years. You can scour 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.960 the web and apply for dozens of different scholarships and 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:54.320 even choosing a lower cost in state option. Uh. Those 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:58.200 can all be crucial in the college cost benefit analysis. 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:00.760 And you know what, don't forget about grants that are 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:02.600 up there as well. What you really need to do 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.240 is just look at you know what your state has 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:07.040 to offer. We talked about this a second ago, Joel. 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:09.560 You mentioned how Georgia, how you've got the Hope Scholarship. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.520 Tennessee they offered two years of college for free to 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.080 all high school graduates. Right now. New York they have 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.840 a tuition free program that is available to lots of 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.400 people called the Excelsior Scholarship. There are a ton of 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.920 different tactics that you can sort of employ in order 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:27.480 to get the cost of college down. Joel. We're planning 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.600 a full episode on ways to do that, Ways to 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.160 minimize the cost of college coming up in the next 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.240 couple of months. But just know that the first step 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.440 that you can take to make college worth it is 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.480 to actually get a deal, try to try to get 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:42.800 the cost down. I completely agree. Yeah, I think if 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:45.120 you're spending too much, like I said, like, is my 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:46.680 degree worth it? Well, it depends on the number I 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:48.320 paid for it. And if the student loanedbt on my 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:50.120 back is a hundred thousand dollars, then no, my degree 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.560 wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth that. But if the 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:54.480 amount of debt on my back when I graduated was 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.040 thirteen dollars, then then yeah, it was a slam dunk. 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:58.920 It was a great deal. And so you mentioned cost 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.720 benefit analysis, man, I think that is such a key 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.440 thing to to think about in this debate, and it's 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.200 important to run the numbers. It's important to consider, Okay, 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:09.880 what are the costs and what are the benefits associated 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.000 with with getting this degree? And I think it's just 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.000 something that a lot of people, maybe it hasn't even 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:16.720 entered their brain, hadn't even entered their radar to to 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:18.800 do one of those with their kids or for themselves 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.480 when they're thinking about going back to school, because that 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:23.280 can be make or break, that can be the yes 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.800 or no, that can be the primary factor, right, the 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.840 actual costs associated with it in making a wise decision. Yeah, 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:30.640 it sounds a little heartless on us, right to be like, 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:32.400 all right, what's this gonna be worth? You know, like 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:33.840 how much of my putting in? How much am I 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:37.200 getting out? It's like a mechanism almost because college college 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.200 feels like hopes and dreams, you know, like it's like 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:42.040 I want to achieve this, but even still you have 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.280 to take this into account. Yeah, exactly. I think there's 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:47.600 a balance between finding ways to monetize college, right, like 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:49.520 you're actually looking at how much you're gonna be able 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:52.120 to make, but like finding a balance between that along 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.160 with like where do I really want to go to school? 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.040 Like wherever I had my dreams my hopes would have 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.360 said on you know, like if you only are thinking 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:00.360 about your hopes and dreams, well, shoot, you could end 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.520 up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars paying out the 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:04.720 nose going to you know, one of the ivys or 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:06.440 at the other end of the spectrum, if you're only 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.880 looking at the dollars and cents, well that's not at 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:10.639 all enjoyable. It kind of feels like, you know, like 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:12.520 I said, kind of heartless. I think there's a balance 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.680 that we can strike where we are being money conscious, 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.080 but we're also really excited about the school that we 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:21.679 have the opportunity to attend. Yeah, I completely agree. On 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:25.080 top of being thoughtful about the the actual specific university 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:27.000 we go to, I think it's really important to talk 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:30.760 about which degree we choose. All college degrees are not 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:33.560 created equal and Matt when we had Christie Shannon, I 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.400 believe that was episode one eighteen, and Christie mentioned her 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.440