Peter Bielagus is a Financial Speaker and the Author of three books on money management. In this week’s episode, he explores whether it makes sense for your teen to attend college. He also answers the question on what parents can do if their teen doesn’t want to go to college; the options they have to pursue education; and the types of conversation you should be having with your teen around money and education. 

Key Takeaways

• Going to college to get good grades is an outdated concept. A student today needs to take advantage of more than just when they’re at a university. 
• It’s too expensive to just go to college just for the degree, and nothing more. 
• What do you do when your teen doesn’t want to go to college? 
• 20 years ago, college was an experience. Today, it is an investment and students need to be very cautious on how they use that investment in time. 
• There are different approaches to take in regard to furthering your teen’s education. College is no longer the only ‘best option’. 
• Growing up, Ed never had the expectation that his parents would pay for college. Today, it seems to be the gold standard. Peter weighs in on his thoughts. 
• There is such a thing as student loans, but there is no such thing as retirement loans. Parents need to prioritize their retirements first. 
• Do not sacrifice for your teen when it comes to saving for their college fund. 
• Does it make sense for your teen to take a gap year? 
• What’s too big of a student loan? Should parents encourage their teen to go to an ivy league school? 
• In the finance world, numbers don’t mean anything. 
• Parents need to remember that debt reduces opportunities. 

Sponsored by “Youth Leadership Lessons”  https://varsityleadership.com/

Resources

https://peterbspeaks.com/

Peter on LinkedIn

Quotes:

“Is college worth it? The answer really is going to be, that’s up to you and your teen.” 

“Parents saving for their teen’s college education should probably be the last priority that parents have in their overall financial plan.” 

“What debt does, at base, is it shrinks our opportunities.”