Expert Reveals How To Graduate College Without Becoming A Slave To Student Loans

Financial expert Anthony O'Neal, author of Debt-Free Degree, discusses ways financial education can help you avoid student loan debt.

Originally Published Oct. 24, 2019.

Student loan debt may seem like a way of life these days. But it doesn’t have to be, and Anthony O’Neal can tell you how. O’Neal has helped thousands of students make the right decisions with their money as the author of Graduate Survival Guide: 5 Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make in College and his new book, Debt-Free Degree: The Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Kid Through College Without Student Loans.

After being in debt and experiencing homelessness—he lost both his college scholarship and his apartment—he overcame his financial issues to become debt-free. He now travels the country spreading his encouraging message to help teens and young adults transition into the real world. O’Neal took the time to discuss why financial education is key to being debt-free.

What made you decide to enter the world of finance?

The lack of wisdom and knowledge I received growing up around finances directly impacted the decisions I made in my early adulthood. I had $35,000 in debt and was homeless at age 19. When I hit that low point, I decided to not only never be in that situation again but knew I wanted to help young people avoid the mistakes I made.

Finance is very important in our lives, yet it’s not taught in schools. What can be done to ensure children can make better financial decisions as they enter adulthood?

There are only 25 states in the U.S. that require a personal finance course in high school. Other states are trying to make it happen. But, up to this point, educators have not seen it as a priority for teens. At Ramsey Solutions, we’re working hard to change that. Our curriculum, Foundations in Personal Finance, has impacted millions of lives and has been taught in 1 out of 3 high schools in the country. And I travel the country speaking to high school and college students helping them understand the impact their financial decisions can have on their futures. It’s so important for teens to learn these principles young so they’re set up for success when they leave home.

Why did you write the Graduate Survival Guide, and what should we anticipate from your latest offering, Debt-Free Degree?

In Graduate Survival Guide, I was able to really lay out the mistakes I made in college and work with my friend, Rachel Cruze, who was lucky enough to avoid those mistakes. We were able to use both of our experiences to not only educate readers on what to avoid but also how to win while in college.

Right now, in America, we’re in the middle of a student loan crisis. While everyone is talking about student loan forgiveness, I want to help people avoid the student loan trap altogether. My hope for Debt-Free Degree is to change people’s perspective on how to pay for college—it is possible to go to school without student loans. You just need a plan, and Debt-Free Degree is that plan.

Why are we, as a country, so rooted in a student debt crisis?

Student loans are normal. It’s easier to sign up for a student loan than it is to work hard, save money, and find scholarships and grants. People are uneducated on the effects these loans are going to have on the rest of their lives. We’re seeing it all play out now. Millennials are postponing buying homes, getting married, and even having kids because of student loans. That’s why the first thing I’m telling people to do is take debt off the table. When student loans aren’t an option, you find other ways to pay—whether that’s choosing a cheaper college, a trade school, or spending time finding money.

Student loans are robbing young people of opportunities—not creating them. So, right now, I’m just focused on changing the way that our culture thinks about their future.

Why is it so important to you to help young people deal with finance successfully?

This message matters so much to me because I have been there. I was in a situation that felt hopeless because of the debt that I was in, and it kept me from starting my adult life out on the right foot. I know kids and parents feel overwhelmed by the cost of college. I get why they feel tempted to take out student loans. It seems like the easy way upfront, but it is taking people an average of over 20 years to pay it off. That is not the easy way! Imagine what that monthly payment would do if you invested it for 20 years instead. The average student loan payment is $393 a month. That would be around $4.1 million by retirement. Student loans are literally costing young people millions of dollars!

If you could do one thing over again, what would it be and why?

I would listen to my mom. I would not have taken out student loans and cut up my first credit card when she told me to cut it up. Debt led me down a rough path where I was depressed, homeless, and alone. I am thankful to God for helping me to come to my senses and turning my life back around. I know those experiences shaped me into who I am, and now because I’ve lived it I can help young people to avoid the same mistakes. But if I had just listened to my mom.