How Much Will It Cost To Finance Your Living Expenses While In College?
Paying for college is a decision in which the choices you make will greatly affect your life for decades.
Actually, borrowing more than the minimum on student loans is one of the top regrets we hear from our Champion Empowerment subscribers.
Take a moment to review this chart
The Cost of College and Living Expense Borrowing chart was compiled in 2019 by ChampionEmpowerment.com and uses 6% interest with the loan repaid over 10 years. We used two sources for this information; 1) College Board (link one, link two) and 2) Bank Rate.
After reviewing the chart, consider the following:
- 4-year college program tuition and fees range from $38,000 to $130,000
- 4-year average living expenses range between $70,000 and $105,000
- When borrowing enough to cover all your costs, the interest fees range between $36,000 to $78,000
- When borrowing enough to cover JUST your living expenses, the interest fees range between $23,000 and $35,000
- When borrowing enough to cover all expenses, payments are between $1,600 and $2,600 per month
- If you work, you need to earn between $1,500 and $2,200 per month and that will significantly lower your debt and your monthly payments
Borrowing the Minimum Is a Smart Decision!
An excellent way to subsidize your costs is by working to pay your own living expenses. Working while in school just makes good long-term financial sense. If you work now, your budget will be grateful later! Consider that on average you’ll only need to earn between $2,200 and $1,500 per month and that will free you from paying $800 to $1,200 per month for ten LONG years—or MORE!
When students overborrow, they could have serious difficulties paying mortgages or rents, or paying for other necessities like car payments, childcare, and unexpected expenses.
