Debt is not always the answer – Herald-Mail Media

Pete Waters| Columnist

Sgt. DeLauter laid to rest

Sgt. Roy DeLauter is laid to rest at Cedar Lawn Memorial Park Friday. A long-missing Korean War veteran, DeLauter's remains were recently identified.

Colleen McGrath, The Herald-Mail

Recently, I sat in an audience and listened to two soon-to-be high school graduates outline their plans to attend college and pursue their dreams of tomorrow.

Each had a plan on where they wanted to go, but didnt know for sure how they might get there.Scholarships are available to some, but for others a huge financial liability (student loans) awaits them.

At age 18 in 1966, I had my own awakening after high school.

I had no money and only summer employment to depend on a few bucks here and there.My future was limited to construction work and that didnt pay very well whenever it rained, I got sick, or other reasons prevented me from working.

My grandmother didnt charge me any rent and I couldnt afford college so becoming a genius was out of the question.

What was my future plan?I thought about it and decided to enlist in the United States Army. That would address my travel interests, give me a job, and pay my rent for the next three years, I figured. So thats what I did.

And I was off. I went to North Carolina, Kentucky, Southeast Asia, Australia, Virginia and parts unknown.I soon discovered there was a big world beyond Dargan.

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Before my enlistment was up in the fall of 1969, I embraced another interesting pastime in the form of courtship. I got married and welcomed a newborn daughter to the Waters clan before leaving the Army.

Now with a family, I thought more about my future.My wife wanted a house and that cost $17,000 to build in 1970. I had to make a 33-year loan to pay for it and was troubled that I would die before that loan was paid. I was only making a little over $5,000 a year as a correctional officer.

The GI Bill for education was available, so I decided to go to college.My decision to enlist paid dividends.It helped pay for my education for the next seven and a half years, and I acquired a masters degree.

There is no way I would have gone into debt to go to college.Buying a house was enough stress while married and raising a kid.

Students today are enticed to go into debt to pay for college. Here is a lending agents student loan pitch: "Perfect for undergraduates and graduate students alike, these private loans will fit seamlessly into your budget and will give you the financial freedom necessary to accomplish all of your educational goals."

Believe me, these loans will notfit seamlessly into your budget!

The actual collateral for your student loan is your future earnings. Should you desire to get married and have a child, your student loan does not disappear. Itbecomes like a second housing mortgage should you decide to buy a house.

Todays student loan debt for our country is estimated at $1.7 trillion. One can readily see why most students would want to have this debt canceled.

A student loan program is a fiscal accident waiting to happen and an ill-advised idea for many parents and young people. Now many are burdened with a huge debt and often no job.

There would have been no way I would have considered a student loan in my teen years as there were too many unplanned variables to consider in the future.

I suggested to one of the students having difficulty coming to terms with her tuition responsibility that maybe she consider the military as an option as educational programs remain available.

Local community colleges too are less expensive alternatives.

It seems that for some getting a loan is a more desirable option than cheaper possibilities.

One never thinks much about paying off the loan in the future when the money is so easy to obtain in the beginning. That same sort of thinking gets credit card abusers in trouble.

If you fail to pay back your loans, the lender (either the government or bank) can garnish your wages, garnish your Social Security, and even offset and take your tax refund.

Student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy either.

And heres one final thought for you aspiring college graduates: Once you enter into a student loan, there is a debt coming due somewhere down the road.

Student loans may work out for some, but for so many others it is an unwise investment leading to fiscal misery.

And American taxpayers are not the answer to your poor decision making.

My advice:Think twice before getting a student loan.

Lloyd "Pete" Waters is a Sharpsburg resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.

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Debt is not always the answer - Herald-Mail Media