Student loan consolidation: look this gift horse in the mouth.

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Get Life Skills - Not Student Loans

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Student loans? Who needs them? Take charge of your money for the rest of your life.

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Part I (This article)

Part II Student loan consolidation has big benefits for losers

Part III Idea beats student loan consolidation and creates a winning mindset.

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You'll never need student loans with these ideas.

1.Grants in place of student loans - no repayments

2. Part time earning decreases student loans

3. Economising (builds life skills) avoids some student loans

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1. Grants - Supreme way to avoid student loans

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A grant is a gift of money that you don't have to repay. Isn't a $50000 grant better than taking out student loans every year for four or five years? There is a club that keeps its members abreast of grants that they might use. You can avoid student loans. These grants aren't confined to education so you aren't confined to avoiding student loans. If you get a grant, save actively to build a nest egg and the right mindset.

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2. Part Time Earning

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There are lots of ways for you to work your way through college. What I like is that they encourage an aggressive "go and get it" mindset. Student loans encourage the "wait for it to come to me" mindset.

I have details of how a teenage girl made a profitable website. She'll never need student loans!

One girl runs dogs. That's right, she runs for half an hour with 4 dogs that need lots of exercise, then picks up the next 4 dogs.

Don't lose sight of your target. You want to avoid student loans, not impress your friends with how much you can spend.

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3. Economising

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I had a grant for University. Fellow students complained their student loans or college grants were too small. I saved money from the grant by economising.

A dollar saved is four dollars earned. You pay back about twice as much as you borrow, with money from which the IRS has stolen 50%. So each dollar you save avoids earning four.

You can economise on these and have better health.

1. Food

2. Lodgings

3. Health

4. Transport

5. Social life

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1. Food.

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Learn to cook. You're at the mercy of food suppliers until you can cook. One student got into the news because student loans only covered tinned dog-food for him to eat. That's too expensive! I'm cooking my own food and eating well on about$17 per week.

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2.Lodgings

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I can only suggest that you shop around. Remember that $20 saved per week is $1000 saved from your student loans each year even without interest payments.

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3. Health

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The damage you do to your body adds up over your lifetime, so it's a good idea to stay healthy. What has that to do with student loans?

It turns out that fast food is bad for your health, and so are most processed foods, and cooking your own food means that you can avoid trans-fatty acids, sugar, and all the other things that cause obesity. Curry, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic, brazil nuts, and cabbage among other things fight cancer. And they all make less demands on student loans.

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4.Transport

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Make enquiries. How much would you save from your student loans by buying a bike instead of a car? Would public transport be better? Would walking or running for exercise be even better? How much would it cramp your style for dating?

Remember, buying a car with a student loan involves not only repayments, but fuel and oil, repairs, licensing, and depreciation. I travelled 2 hrs/day on my pushbike getting exercise and no college loans.

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5. Social Life

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Look for free pastimes. If your friends aren't interested in ways to avoid college loans perhaps you have the wrong friends.

If you finish study at 25 and work till 60 that gives you a working life of 35 years. So a 25 year student loan takes a big chunk out of your life, even if you are never unemployed.

And that's before you take out a mortgage!

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Other ways to economise

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Buy second-hand whenever possible - even your textbooks. Clothes from the Salvation Army are cheap. Use eBay, but don't buy anything you don't need. My first boss said I'd furnished my house for less than he spent on his bedroom. Negotiate - Important for second hand, even more for new goods. When you go in to buy a new fridge, the attendant waits to see if you're stupid enough to pay the price tag, or ask for a discount.

Remember a dollar saved is four dollars in student loans that you won't have to pay back.