Most of the grad parties around here are Mid May. That is when high school graduation is around here.

I was shocked at how little some of the college grads knew about their loans. So many had no idea they had to pay them back - and that they had gotten them from lenders at SUPER high interest rates. WHO is helping these kids? Good grief, someone needs to guide them on those things when they are starting college. They have to have a realistic knowledge of what they are going to owe, and what kind of job it will take to pay those loans off.

Thankfully we can pay for our kids tuition. I have told them to be very careful if/when they find their "own true love" - make sure that person doesn't have 100K in student debt! LOL - I am SUCH a romantic! LOL

When she was first out of school, my daughter was amazed at how tight money was for many of her recent graduate friends due to college loans. I don't know what is going on with lack of advice for kids seeking loans. I like to listen to financial advisor Dave Ramsey, and one day a young guy called in with huge student loans for him and his wife. He was making $24,000 a year, and she was a social worker. Dave asked him what she was thinking taking out an $80,000 loan to be a social worker and how on earth could she expect to pay it off.

Dave asked him what she was thinking taking out an $80,000 loan to be a social worker and how on earth could she expect to pay it off.

That is EXACTLY what they need to hear! I think there is way to much emphasis placed on "following your heart" blah blah blah....

Yes - you need to like what you are doing, but you have to be realistic!

I know of several kids in college right now that will graduate with very little debt - because they WORK. I think these kids will be the responsible adults that this country is going to desperately need.

When my kids go on college visits they look at several programs. We do NOT tell them what to study, but we do have them look into the job availability and the realistic amount of money they will make in that field. Sometimes you have to face the cold hard facts and that is life.

They also know "what things cost". When I pay the health insurance - I show them the check. When I pay the orthodontist bill - I show them the check. I don't make this a "look at what I am spending on you" - but more of a reality check - "look at what things cost".

They have to know about things like insurance, etc. It isn't how much that car payment is - it is how much is the car payment, the insurance payment, the tax payment, and repairs....

They have to see what it takes in a month to get by. If they have to make a car payment, rent, cell phone, food, etc. .. then have some money left - what does it take?

A class teaching these things should be MANDATORY!

Had grandsons graduation yesterday afternoon. Twenty minutes before it was to begin his mother sent him on an errand and he was involved in a car accident. Totaled his car. Man that hit him had an expired license and was yelling at grandson saying he( the man would now have to go to jail) grandson tried to explain it wasn't his fault he was driving without license. No one hurt but was pretty scary. One more reason to remember this graduation.

I also feel our colleges and universities are doing nothing to try to contain costs for their students. They shoulder a huge part of the blame here.

With the economy, the state universities and community colleges especially are having to deal with reduced funding. But they don't worry about their students difficult situations.

I heard part of a discussion on this topic a few weeks ago, and the "expert" chatting with the radio host said that he has a friend who has been a university president at large, well known, private and public universities. The university president said that consideration of students trying to pay their tuition was never part of any official conversation that he had been a part of in his entire college career.

The fact that these college loans exist, in fact, now allow colleges to charge more and more at no concern or cost to them. It is a real shame that universities and colleges are being so callously irresponsible with the next generation's futures.

My son's University has had many seminars on money management. He says he and the same 5 other students are all that attend. He shops for books on line, gets them for less than half what the book store charges. When I asked him how the school could even sell any at their prices he says "Most kids are spending mom and dad's money so they have no reason to care"! Parents SHOULD be teaching their children money management. It is no one's job but mom and dads. The list is long on what parents SHOULD be teaching that they are not. They keep saying "the schools should" WRONG the schools did not have these children YOU did. Love them enough to prepare them for success!!