This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of accredited online university . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com.

When it comes to education, we usually try not to spare any expenses in getting the best there is, because knowledge and learning are invaluable assets that enrich our lives and make us grow in stature. Money spent on learning is an investment rather than an expense, so we go all out if it means we are going to gain more out of it in the long term.

However, with the advent of online education, not only are you able to earn a quality degree, but you’re also able to reduce your expenses significantly. If you’re wondering how, read on to find out:

• Online education is much cheaper than paying tuition at colleges that offer traditional degrees. You save a large amount of money when you enroll online, with the added bonus being that you don’t have to take out a loan in order to finance your education and thus put yourself in debt.

• When you study online, your schedule is flexible. So you have much more time for other activities, time which you could use to earn money at a part or full time job. Not only does online education help you save money, it also aids you in earning it.

• When you learn online, you don’t need to spend money on commuting to and from college every day. You save on gas, bus passes, parking permits and wear and tear on your car.

• You don’t have to shell out money for accommodations on or off campus.

• Your food expenses are also minimized because you’re at home, not on campus and fending for yourself.

• Online education does not involve significant additional expenses like furniture and other knickknacks for your dorm room or campus life. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection, and since most of us already own and use one for other purposes, it’s not going to be much of an expense.

• Studying online means you are not tempted to party and socialize as you would when you’re in a regular college. This saves you a lot of money that would have otherwise been spent on booze and other trivial pursuits.

Online education makes you more efficient because it forces you to manage your time better, earn while you learn, and cut unnecessary costs.

Editor’s note: I completed my degree online after years of toiling away in the evenings separated from my family. While completing an online degree does take extra discipline, and can be costly depending on the institution, Adrienne points out the many benefits of choosing an online education over a traditional course of study.

Congratulations on your graduation; welcome to life.  For the last several years you’ve been insulated from reality by the protective cocoon of a college or high school campus.  While you’ve toiled with academic duties, chances are you’ve done little toiling with many of life’s harder lessons.

In the coming decade you will be faced with challenges and hardships that you probably have been ill-prepared to handle.  That is more of a condemnation of our overall “wussification” as a society than a knock against educators, who for the most part do a good job of working within nearly impossible restraints. Despite their best efforts, there were a few things that were left out of the syllabus on life.

I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve made my share of mistakes.  It is my hope that by sharing them here at Frugal Dad at least a few of you will avoid repeating them.  So on this graduation day, a day of celebration and reminiscing, keep the the following lessons in mind.

10 Lessons For New Grads

1. Your diploma is worthless.  It is a piece of paper.  It will soon be mounted in an expensive frame and proudly displayed on a wall somewhere in corporate America. It is the knowledge that you gained, and the experiences you’ve collected, that are invaluable.

2. It’s OK to lose.  You are too young to remember keeping score.  When I was a kid we had winners and losers, champions and second place.  Now everyone gets a trophy just for participating.  Losing teaches humility.  Embrace it, learn from it, but don’t make it a habit.

3. You cannot borrow your way to prosperity.  Sure, some have borrowed money to start something and had success in spite of leveraging their future, but most people crash and burn.  Go slow.  Save your money and build your idea with your own cash.  You’ll spend smarter with your own money.

4. It is time to take better care of yourself.  No more all-nighters. The time has come to take care of yourself.  Take it from someone who has largely ignored his own advice for the last decade, putting other priorities ahead of his own health.  Make taking care of yourself priority one.  Trust me, you’ll save money on insurance, health care, and enjoy a better quality of life.

5. Save for sunny days. By now you’ve had the idea of saving for a rainy day beaten into you. It’s good advice, but don’t forget the sunny days, too.  Save on purpose. Whatever that purpose is – a hobby or skill you’d like to learn, or a trip you’ve always wanted to take – save for it and pay cash. Remember, life is meant to be enjoyed.

6. There is nothing wrong with renting. Resist the temptation to run out and buy a house. There is no shame in renting.  In fact, there are many advantages to renting.  It makes sense for new graduates unsure about where they plan to work and live, and who they might plan to share their lives with going forward.  When you have a huge emergency fund saved, and the time is right, buy a modest home and pay it off quickly.

7. Save half your income. I don’t have regrets, but if I could do one thing over in my life I would save 50% of my income from the first day I entered the work world. Doing so ensures one year of freedom outside of the work world.

8. A used car does not always represent “someone else’s problem.” Despite our automotive advances over the last thirty years or so, I still routinely hear this excuse for avoiding used cars. There is nothing wrong with a good used car. Have a mechanic check it out, buy it, and drive it until the wheels fall off.

9. Some people will earn more than you for doing the same job. Now that you have a degree you probably feel like you should be at the top of the salary scale. Wrong. There are people who have been out there hustling since you were in diapers (or before), and even though they don’t have a degree, they have decades of real-world experience.  Don’t resent them; learn from them.

10. Stand behind your beliefs, especially when they are unpopular. You are an individual, with an individual set of beliefs.  Never let anyone take that away from you.  It is not popular these days to stand up for what you believe in, but unless you stand for something, you will fall for anything.

Extra credit:  You are not finished learning.  Learning is a life-long endeavor, and to quit now would mean short-changing yourself some sixty or seventy years. Continue to read books, study subjects you are curious about, and challenge yourself to broaden your horizons. Formal education is now behind you, but a world of opportunity to learn more is now in front of you.

Looking for a place to sell back your textbooks?  Try Cash4Books-Quick Cash, Free Shipping, Free Quotes

 
Photo courtesy of powerbooktrance

The following guest post is from Mike Young, Founder and CEO of The S.E.C.U.R.E. ^TM student program.  You can learn more about Mike, and the The S.E.C.U.R.E.^TM student program at his website.

The media today is focused on the $700 Billion bailout on Wall Street and the credit crunch.  However, what has become very clear in the eyes of many is that the real problem is with the foundation of our educational system.

Remember all of the neat stuff you learned in high school about credit and money?  If you are like me, you don’t, because there was no education on how credit and money actually worked.  The average kid today will see over 360,000 advertisements before the age of 18 while receiving less than 10 hours of formal education on financial literacy.

CNBC reported that the real problem with the adult population today, is they were never taught this stuff in school.  This leads us to an entire generation of consumers with a -2% savings rate.  The average American has less than $3800 in savings and an average credit card balance of $9,200!

Marketing and advertising has been working full steam ahead since the 1950’s and it’s about time that our educational system begins to make sweeping changes to help high school kids develop positive habits with credit and money before they leave home.

It’s time for our society to begin making an impact on the next generation, teaching them lessons we’ve learned the hard way.  It’s time to make a difference and consume less while saving more.  We can turn this ship around, but it’s going to take a group effort at the community level and begin getting involved now.

Frugal Dad’s Thoughts:  I couldn’t agree more with Mike’s message, and his organization’s mission.  As a society, we do a poor job at preparing our youth to take the next step to become fiscally responsible citizens.  Think about it–we spend countless hours of instruction preparing students for fitness through health classes, gym and physical education.  We spend many more hours teaching students proper grammar, in both English and foreign languages.  Rather than teaching them how to take tests, or prepare for college, perhaps we should focus our efforts on preparing students for life.  Some basic courses in personal finance including lessons such as how to balance a checkbook, how to manage credit, how taxes work, etc. would go a long way towards creating a better prepared group of high school graduates.

A perfect storm may be brewing in the financial world, and this time it is not the fault of sub-prime mortgage lenders. Student loans are getting out of hand in this country, not because they are a bad product, but because of the amounts some students are willing to borrow to fund their education.  Stories abound of students graduating with thousands of dollars owed on student loans. These loan payments sometimes represent as much as a new graduate’s housing costs (and many can’t afford housing because of the loan payments). The rising costs of tuition, a proclivity for borrowing, and changes in federal loan lending legislation are setting up a late-summer crisis for 2008-2009 college students.

Lenders and colleges are getting creative, and government legislation is not helping. An unintended consequence of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act is that federal subsidies are drying up for private lenders that make federal loans to college students. Many colleges are ending their alliances with these types of lenders, and instead pointing students to borrow directly from the federal government through their respective colleges. This will practically shut out private lenders, and we have already seen what taking away privatized options has done to other government programs (think Social Security, for example).

Of course, none of this matters to those who choose an alternative to student loans. Fortunately, there are several other options to borrowing money to attend school. However, similar to other areas of financial life it has become the norm for high school graduates to assume thousands of dollars (and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars) for the privilege of obtaining a college degree. I took on some small student loans myself early in my college career, but thankfully I took a different approach when I returned to school and worked full time to pay my way. Here are some alternatives to financing your college education:

• Work. Work is a sure-fire money making scheme. College educators tend to frown on student employment citing poor class attendance and lack of participation in other extra-curricular activities which add to the college experience. Baloney. I don’t have a problem with someone working to pay their way through school. In fact, I encourage it. Graduates who have worked their way through school enter the job market with experience already listed on their resumes. They also tend to take school more seriously when they are footing the bill. Employers like to hire candidates who have worked their way through school because it speaks to the potential employee’s dedication, perseverance and all-around work-ethic.
• Tuition Reimbursement Programs. Many companies now offer tuition reimbursement programs where employees are reimbursed for some or all of their tuition for pursuing degrees related to their careers. Some of these programs reimburse employees based on grades earned (100% for an “A,” 90% for a “B,” and so on) which provides an extra incentive to perform well in school.
• Military Service. A commitment to military service comes with the perk of paid tuition upon completion of required duty. The G.I. Bill pays for military service personnel to attend classes that lead to a college degree, and even some vocational courses that lead to a degree or certificate. This is an excellent way for aspiring physicians to attend medical school. The government will typically cover the costs of your medial training in exchange for a promise to serve as a doctor in one of the Armed Services. During times of war, this can be a risky proposition, but maybe not as risky as financing $120,000 to attend medical school!

Bottom line? Stay away from student loans if at all possible. Consider alternative sources of funding, such as the ones mentioned above. If you do not have the money to attend college right out of high school, work for six months to a year and save up for tuition. As part of this strategy, look for employers that offer tuition reimbursement. UPS reimburses part time employees for tuition expenses beginning the day they are hired through their Earn and Learn Program. Not a bad deal for slinging boxes a few hours in the evenings.

Looking for finance options? For a great loan quote visit Rebuild.org.

Image Credit: meyshanworld

I caught a segment on the CBS nightly news the other day that told of a growing trend across the country whereby kids, and their parents, are being paid for meeting educational milestones. So called “Learn and Earn” programs now exist in eleven states and are currently funded with a combination of public and private funds.

In New York, Mayor Bloomberg even pitched in his own money to fund Opportunity NYC, New York’s version of the “Learn and Earn” program which compensates the cities “poorest kids” for passing required regents exams. They also pay parents $25 for attending parent-teacher conferences, and $200 for taking kids to annual physicals. Two Georgia school systems have also recently gotten in on the pay for participation trend, offering to pay kids $8 an hour to attend after-school tutoring.

Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I believe kids ought to have some innate desire to want to learn, and should not have to motivated by the promise of cash. Parents should foster this desire by encouraging lifelong learning, both inside and outside a traditional classroom setting. When did it become the responsibility of taxpayers and private donors to motivate students and their parents to educate themselves? What this really sounds like is a complex welfare system which operates under the guise of an educational reward program.

If you really want to pay low-income students and their families, why not create incentives around good, old-fashioned work, and leave educational goals out of it. By converting current volunteer activities to paid, part time work, parents could be compensated for time spent improving school grounds, working at after-school activities, or assisting teachers with much-needed oversight during the administration of standardized tests, etc. Students could be paid for tutoring younger children (but not for receiving tutoring), assisting with sports programs (team managers), and performing after-school jobs such as painting, grass cutting, etc. Perhaps then kids would take more pride in their schools and parents would be more visible on school grounds, leading to less disciplinary issues.

When I was in school the only motivation we needed to be successful was the threat of failure, summer school or after-school detention. Today’s kids aren’t as concerned with punitive threats, but teaching them to expect cash rewards for doing minimal work will create an entitlement mindset that will stay with them their entire lives. This mindset will lead to a generation of underachievers, content with doing just enough to get by and receive their government rewards. That’s not what American capitalism was built on. Kids should be encouraged to learn, to excel, and to develop and chase their own dreams.