This put a lot of pressure on me to perfect my college resume. I became somewhat of GPA junkie, doing extra credit whether I needed it or not.

There were clubs I joined, paid dues to, and never attended. Why? Not because I had an interest in the activities, but because I was collecting memberships for my college resume. My obsession led to many sick and sleepless nights, but it was all worth it when I got accepted to a “prestigious” university.

(Make sure you check out the giveaway at the bottom of this post!)

Even with a huge scholarship, my college education was going to cost about $30,000 a year. No big deal. I heard somewhere that college graduates earned a million dollars more over their lifetime. That bit of misinformation had me signing for massive loans with the same hesitation I might have signed a check for lunch.

Even with my above-average GPA and SAT scores, I am ashamed to admit that it took me until my junior year to figured out that college wasn’t adding up. I finally saw passed the sales pitches and slogans, and I no longer felt like a smart college kid; I felt like a sucker. So, do you know what I did?

For the first time in my life, I thought for myself. Heading into my senior year of college, I quit.

People thought I was crazy, and to this day, they still ask if I plan to go back and finish. I am not saying that I haven’t been tempted. Many people esteem degrees and degreed people. In our society it is an automatic qualifier, whether it deserves to be or not.

But I just can’t do it, I’m no longer a believer.

That is not to say that no one should go to college. If you plan to work in a profession that requires a degree, then you have no choice. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is, and so you will have to submit to the system.

Still, before any kid throws a small fortune at college here are some things that they should know:

What Kids Should Know About College

1. True Cost

You have probably noticed that college is outrageously expensive, but you may not be aware of the total cost. On the low end, with room and board, you will pay about $10,000 and on the high end, maybe $60,000 a year. So, the cost of a 4-year degree runs $40,000 to $240,000, right?

Actually, it can be a lot more than that, because there are other costs, hidden costs, that most high schoolers don’t consider.

Unless the 18 year-old graduate has a trust fund, he is going to need a loan. On $40,000 at 6% over a term of 10 years, our college student is going to pay an additional $18,237 in interest. So, the apparent cost just went up nearly 50%! On $240,000 at 6% over 10 years, he will pay an additional $109,423 interest! Ouch!

Then there is the unearned-income cost. For instance, if you devote 8 hours a day, between school and homework, to college, that is 8 hours that you could have been working. If you only made $10 an hour, that’s $1600 a month – $19,200 a year. Multiply that by 4 years and that’s another $76,000 of unearned income that your four year degree is costing you.

Some people will protest that kids could go to college and work. That doesn’t change a thing because they could also take the extra time to work two jobs.

Oh wait, there might be more! Most of the high paying jobs that require degrees, require more than just a 4-year degree.

For instance, if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you are going to need to budget for an additional 3 to 4 years. And the bad news is that graduate degrees always cost more money than undergraduate degrees. So again, factor the cost of room and board, the interest on the loans, and the unearned income.

You start adding it all up, and even if you do make that promised million dollars more, you might need it just to break even!

2. Financial Aid:

Financial aid is rarely that at all. It should called financial enslavement, because that is usually what it is. But if you are going to go to college, you need to know the difference between college grants, college loans, and college scholarships.

A grant will cost you nothing – not now anyway. However, before you get all excited about free college money, understand that there is no such thing as “free money.” The federal government collects money from taxpayers and grants it to you, no strings attached right? Wrong.

Once you graduate and have your degree, you will be a taxpayer, forced to fund other students college grant money. And unlike your student loans, you will be on the hook paying for other students’ college grant money for the rest of your working life!

A college loan is not free money either, it is debt that will be paid with interest.

You are selling banks a substantial stake in your future earnings.

And college loans are the worst, and most dangerous loans because there are no qualifications. When you apply for a home loan, the banks look at your debt to income ratio to determine the loan amount. But most college students have no income, and there is no guarantee that they will have the income to cover the loan after they graduate.

Filing for bankruptcy isn’t likely to help you, as students loans are nearly impossible to discharge. Thanks to the low quality of our schools, most high school students don’t know any of this. That’s why banks love to loan to college students, who will sign their life away without any comprehension.

Scholarships are probably kids’ best option. Still don’t get overly excited. If a school offers you a scholarship, they are simply selling you their services at a discounted price. You are still on the hook for the remaining balance. And you aren’t likely to get a full ride scholarship without strings attached.

Say you earn a full ride scholarship to play football. You haven’t won the lottery! The college is simply paying you in educational vouchers, while they reap real monetary benefits. For most college athletes, their sport is a fulltime job.

Between practice, games, travel, meetings, conferences, and workouts, most spend at least 40 hours a week working for the college. Yet, that college rakes in all the sponsorships, advertising, licensing deals, and ticket money.

Subtract the tuition our full-riders save from they money they could earn working a minimum wage job, and most would come out ahead working the minimum wage job!

3. Education or Degree:

Colleges still maintain a monopoly in degrees and certifications, but they are no longer the sole educators. We live in the information age. I swear, anything college can teach you, Youtube can teach you better!

So, unless your chosen profession requires a degree, educate yourself and keep the change! You want to study art? – then take your tuition money and build yourself an art studio. You want to study business? – then take your tuition and use it as startup money. You want to study history? – then take your tuition and travel the ancient world!

Take your tuition money and get an education, not a degree!

4. A Million Dollars More:

Okay, but in the end isn’t it all worth it? I mean, don’t college students earn a million dollars more over their lifetime?

The answer is no.

This rhetoric is closer to a bold-faced lie, than it is to the truth. It is a lie that could only be bought by an uneducated, schooled population, one that is accustomed to swallowing and regurgitating any line thrown their way.

Homeschooling Teens Giveaway!

Homeschooling your teen is an incredible journey—full of discovery, growth, and the beautiful freedom to learn alongside your child in ways that truly matter.

We want to celebrate YOU and bless your homeschool journey!

I’ve teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you the Homeschooling Teens Giveaway—one winner will receive a $125 gift card to the store of their choice! Use it for curriculum, resources, or whatever will encourage you most. 

I know there are quite a few entries, but each blogger has generously contributed to make this giveaway possible. And remember, the more entries you complete, the better your chances of winning.

Click to continue reading Things Kids NEED to Know About College…

The post 7 Things Every Teen NEEDS to Know About College (giveaway) first appeared on True Aim.

As a once licenced Realtor, who currently owns three investment properties, I am a believer in homeownership, but NOT all home ownership. In most situations, homeownership is a great investment for everyone but the homeowner. 

In 2008, Americans were shocked when banks booted them from “their” cozy homes. They felt cheated and robbed, and many blamed the banks.

Yet, the banks are doing exactly what banks have always done: lend money for profit.

In fact, we might be grateful that there are such people willing to loan us money. The problem is that most Americans are lacking the education to borrow money. Having entrusted our education to the government, Americans are clueless when it comes to real property.

We walk into our banks like little guppies in a shark tank, and are shocked when the sharks swallow us up.

Well, after you finish reading this post, you will never be “taken” again. You will have a better understanding of real estate than 99% of Americans, including many real estate agents!

The Truth About Homeownership

Let’s start at the beginning.

1. You are NOT a homeowner:

Do you own a home? No, it isn’t likely.

Unless you paid cash, you really just own a huge debt. And when I say huge, I mean ginormous!

Think you just bought a 200,000 house? At an 8% interest rate (a great rate before the 2008 housing crash) over 30 years, you really bought a $528,310 house.

2. Amortization Means You’re NOT Buying Down Your Home: 

Interest is amortized, or front-loaded. Amortization means that you aren’t buying your house, or at least not anytime soon.

For the first five years, nearly all of your monthly payment goes straight to interest. It isn’t until the last ten years that the tide shifts and your payment really starts to eat down the principle.

Since the average American moves on average once every 5 years, most “homeowners” only ever pay banks interest!

3. You are a low-risk Tenant:

The reason banks are so set on calling you a “homeowner”, is that tenants who think they are homeowners are ideal renters.

They are more likely to maintain the property and invest money into the house. This also makes home-owning tenants less likely to default on their rent (mortgage) because they don’t want to lose “their” home.

4. You Move Too Much to Own:

The average person moves 10 times as adults, nearly once every 5 years. Everytime you buy a new home you pay closing costs, approximately 2-5% of the purchase price.

Let’s say that you buy 10 homes in your lifetime for $200,000 with 3.5% in closing costs. You have now shelled out $70,000 just in closing fees. But we are just getting warmed up.

10 moves also means 10 real estate commissions! With our same $200,000 homes that is $120,000 in realtor fees over your lifetime!

5. Real Estate Agents are Salesmen: 

Never ask your real estate agent if it is a good time to buy and expect him to say anything but yes! He is a salesman; it is always a good time to buy!

When I bought my first house, just months before the great crash of 2008, my real estate salesman assured me that there was never a better time to buy! That property is now a rental that plagues me to this day and is just now beginning to bob its chimney above water.

6. You Don’t Want Property Values to Go Up:

A few months ago, voters in Meridian Idaho did something monumental, they voted down one of the school’s excessive property levies.

Teachers went crazy on the internet calling homeowners stupid. Didn’t we know that more money means better schools and better schools means increased property values?

I couldn’t help myself. I got into a Facebook spat because, in most cases, the worst thing that can happen to a property owner is his home’s market value goes up! As property values go up, so do taxes!

So, not only would we have to pay the school levy, but we’d have to pay more in taxes on the increased value. And it’s even worse when we go to sell!

Let me explain. It is simple math that every adult should understand; thank heavens we got a pre-Common Core education, right?

Say there are two homes in a neighborhood, one is small and only $100,000 and the other is big and $200,000. Now pretend that you buy the small starter home for $100,000. In a few years your property values double.

You are super happy because you now have $100,000 in equity! You’re rich! Time to upgrade and get the big house you really want. Only it isn’t $200,000 anymore. It’s value also doubled and is now $400,000!

You use your $100,000 capital gain, but you are still left paying $300,000 for the bigger house, when before the property values doubled you could have bought it for only $200,000. In addition to that, all of your closing fees, commissions and taxes will be way more thanks to the new property value. Bottomline, property values go up and you pay more!

7. It All Adds UP:

There are many costs of homeownership that people forget or are simply unaware of.

Homeowners insurance is about 1,000 a year; Homeowner Association dues vary, but average about $1,000 a year; property tax is about 1.25% of the home’s market value, so on a $200,000 that is $2,500 a year; PMI or Primary Mortgage Insurance with around 1%, or $2,000 on your $200,000; and of course, there is maintenance which runs about 3% a year, or $6,000 on a $200,000 home.

That’s $10,500 a year for a home worth $200,000! 50 years of homeownership means you will spend $525,000 in fees and costs most people don’t even consider when they buy a home.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy a home. I think you should, but understand how the system is loaded against you, and then navigate accordingly.

If you can, pay cash. You may not be able to afford your dream home right away, but with the money you save, you soon will!

At some point in the future, I will offer some tips on how get the most from your family home purchase. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below!

The post The Sad Truth about HomeOwnership first appeared on True Aim.

Christmas is a time for family and friends, but sometimes we can’t see the ones we love most.

I moved to Idaho from Oregon to attend Boise State and I’ve never moved back. Idaho is the perfect place for me, the only problem is, most of my family is back in Oregon. That is the only thing I miss, and I miss them dearly.

The happiest memories I have are at Christmas time. Everyone in the family gathered together and when I say everyone, I mean like 30+ people! There was a buzz and a potluck feast like no other I have experienced since.

Although I’m sad that I don’t get to be with them, it is fun to make new traditions with my own family. Luckily, I still get to experience some of the buzz when they call and pass the phone around to everyone for me.

This Christmas, with the Walmart Family Mobile plan I don’t have to worry about when or how much I talk. Their Unlimited Talk,Text and Data/Web plans makes it easy for me to connect with my family in Oregon for just $34.88/month with 5GB of 3G Data so I can use video chat and see everyone too! I can even add a second line for only $29.88.

This is by far the best deal I’ve seen out there with NO annual contract, live customer support and NO overage charges!

I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit for only $79.88 and was pleasantly surprised. It was just as easy to use as my old phone and included a lot of apps that I didn’t know about, but really love like Flipboard and it features my favorite browser (Chrome) and app store (Google Play). Not to mention, room for all my other favorite apps that help me stay organized during the holidays.

Right now you can get all of these phones on roll back:

• Alcatel One Touch Evolve 2 – $49.88 (was $59.88)
• ZTE ZMAX – $179.00 (was $199.88)
• LG L90 – $119.00 (was $179.88)
• Nokia Lumia 635 – $99.88 (was $129.88)
• Samsung Galaxy Exhibit – $79.88 (was $99.88)
• Nokia Lumia 530 – $49.88 (was $69.88)
• $40 Walmart Gift Card  with the purchase of the Samsung Galaxy Avant, 12/14-12/27.

When I went to the store I was a little intimidated to set up my plan all by myself, but I was lucky to have a wireless center at my Walmart and they helped me set everything up. It only took a few minutes and I had my new phone working!

Make sure you go to Walmart Family Mobile and check your signal strength and to see if it is available in your local Walmart store because the #HolidaysAreCalling!

Are you far away from family and friends this Christmas season? How do you keep in touch?

The post Don’t Think Twice About Keeping in Touch with Low Priced Unlimited Plans first appeared on True Aim.

Look around the next time you are at the park in the fall. Most of the children there will have a runny nose or cough.

It can be hard to decide what to dress your children in when the fall weather changes so quickly. It may freeze at night, but then gets warm and sunny during the day. Here are three tips that I use to keep my little ones comfortable during this unpredictable weather season.

We live in Idaho, so most days are sunny. That can be misleading because you’ll look outside and see the beautiful sun, but step outside and you may feel blistering winds and chilling temperatures. It can be 10 degrees cooler in the shade and if the wind stops, you’ll be sweating in your thick winter jacket.

Dressing Children Comfortably and Frugally

I’ve had to get creative when it comes to dressing my little ones and not busting my budget. Here’s what I keep in mind when I’m shopping for clothes or putting together an outfit for fall.

1. Layers

Instead of a thick winter coat, it is better to dress kids in a couple layers of light clothing. This way, they can remove them and put them back on as the weather changes.

I usually pick a short sleeve shirt/dress and a light sweater or hooding for their top half. For my girls, I choose thicker leggings, or even tights under light leggings as pants. For my boys, I like sweat pants or jeans.

Garanimals from Walmart always has seasonally appropriate choices for babies and toddlers that won’t hurt your budget. I can usually find great pieces for about the same price as thrift stores.

2. Heat Rises

Most parents forget one of the easiest ways to dress their children comfortably. It is also really inexpensive. Just get them a hat!

This will help keep the warm air from escaping from the top of their head and can protect their eyes and ears from the wind. Ear muffs, or a thick headband works too.

3. Extremities

The first thing to get cold on my babies are their fingers and toes. Extra socks or a pair of boots help keep their feet cozy.

For fingers, I hate regular gloves. They are so hard to put on and my children can’t pick anything up or do much of anything with them on. Fingerless gloves or mittens that fold back for easy access to fingers work best for my children.

Please leave your tips for dressing children for the fall season below and then check out Garanimals affordable solutions.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Garanimals. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post 3 Frugal Tips for Dressing Baby for Fall first appeared on True Aim.

There are two sides to this topic. How to make toys last longer, physically, and how to ensure your children will be interested in them for years to come.

We have 4 children and rarely ever buy new toys. That’s because we do 3 things that help make our toys last longer, and ensures our children still enjoy them year after year.

How to Make Toys Last Longer

These aren’t just frugal tips, but ways to preserve those favorite toys that you may want to give to your grandchildren someday.

1. Maybe you’ve already heard of rotating toys, but it really works. Toys that you rotate last longer and children won’t loose interest. Simply create two piles, one with toys that are classic, like building toys, art supplies, and Fisher-Price Smart Stages toys and the other pile with toys that your children loose interest in quickly, like dolls, stuffed animals, and figurines.

Put all the toys into medium sized bins and leave 1-2 bins from each pile out. Then store the rest out of the sight of your children. Rotate your toys every 1-4 months. Classic toys will require less rotating.

2. Buy toys that last. Think quality over quantity. This is easier said than done. The most difficult age to buy toys are the baby stage. They grow and develop dramatically in the first 2-yrs of life. It’s important to offer lots of learning content in these early years. So, try to find toys that will grow with your baby.

That’s why we love how Fisher-Price has added Smart Stages to their Laugh and Learn line.

This new feature allows their toys to grow with your child. The three settings match your baby’s developmental levels.

First you’ll set your baby’s age and then use the controls on the front to pick a level. Each level offers new learning content to keep your children engaged.

Level 1 – Explore – is for 12 months and covers first words and the sounds spark baby’s curiosity. Level 2 – Encourage – is for 18 months and asks simple questions and gives directions to follow. Level 3 – Pretend – is for 24 months+ and it engages with imaginative fun and early roll play.

My baby is on Level 1. He is more interested in moving the toy back and forth than listening to what it says, but he is learning simple cause and effect even if he doen’t understand the concepts just yet.

I watch another baby sometimes and can change the level for her since she is a little older. She loves level 2 because of the songs and questions.

Even my 2-year-old stays engaged with level 3 and my 4-year-old loves to use it as a chair for her baby dolls. It really is a versatile toy that I can see us using for years to come.

You can find Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages products at major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Toys-R-Us. Save up to $5 on any Smart Stages Laugh and Learn Toy with a coupon from Coupons.com.

3. Finally, keep indoor toys in and outdoor toys out. My kids love to bring toys outside, but they get muddy and damaged from the weather. So, we bought some real tools, like shovels, watering cans, and small buckets for play outside.

They will last a lot longer and are useful. We also encourage our children play with nature; dirt, plants, and rocks make great outdoor toys.

Do you have any tips for preserving toys? Leave a comment below!

The post 3 Ways to Help Toys Last Longer first appeared on True Aim.