Debt-Free College Education By Zac Bissonnette

Sun Oct 24, 2010, 3:28 am | 18 Comments

Zac Bissonnette is one hell of a guy who is in his final year of college. He got to his senior year without loans, scholarships, or mooching off his parents. Most students have accumulated an average of more than $23,000 in debt at the time of their college graduation. Not Zac. No sir! His parents didn’t even try. They weren’t in a financial position to consider taking out loans for their son’s education.

Zac is an example to all other students whose parents almost deplete their retirement savings or take out home equity loans so their kids can get good education.

Good college education is considered a must to have a good paying job in the 21st century. However, education at present is so expensive that even buying books can get you at least $1,000 “upset” in your bank account. How has Zac done it so far? Well, he has written a book called Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents.

In the book, Zac describes, quite in detail, how he went about acquiring college education so far without any kind of help from his parents or without any kind of loans. He works as a personal finance writer for DailyFinance.com – an AOL Money & Finance Site. In his articles, he mostly writes about students and their college life.

Here is how Zac’s story goes…

Zac started early in life to make money.

• In second grade, Zac sold small trinkets to kids at a local video store for a few years making $8 a week.
• He was a regular visitor at yard sales and flea markets.
• He would sell what he bought for pennies – so to speak – and sell them at eBay. His favorite was video games.
• He invested every dime he earned, presumably on stocks that scored high.
• Believe it or not, by the time he was in his first year of high school, he had a five-figure brokerage account.
• When he headed off to college, he had the funds to cover his education tab.

Higher education is always considered good debt that hopefully can give a good return. It’s thought of as an investment in a person’s future. And the reason is it can lead to a high-paying career.

Zac’s advice to other students…

• Be wary of high school guidance counselors. They have no training as a financial planner. Their main aim is to promote their high schools.
• Treat admissions officers and financial aid officers as used-car salesman.
• Pay for college monthly. Ask your college’s financial aid or bursar’s office for information.
• Graduate from college in three years. Take community college classes during the summer.
• Federal loan is better than private loan for students.
• Consider large public universities that offer honors programs. Classes are small as well.

In a Nutshell
Is Zac an exception? I hope not. He has good advices in his book for students as well as parents.

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