Ryan Hops of Wall Street Survivor wishes today’s

Ryan Hops of Wall Street Survivor wishes today’s young adults knew about the many inexpensive educational opportunities and the free ways to take courses on the internet. Today’s kids take it as a given that they should attend college, but rarely stop to do a thorough cost-benefit analysis, he says.

“I would say that unless you have a career path that is dependent upon a college diploma – like medicine or law – or are accepted to a premier institution where the odds of your future success are disproportionately higher, spending $100,000 to $300,000 of money you don’t have is ludicrously irresponsible,” says Hops. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, you will likely be better off exploring alternative options.

“I suggest you look at community colleges, state schools or alternatives altogether like coding boot camps, MOOC or other online learning programs.”Big Boss vote

When you graduate with student loan debt

When you graduate with student loan debt, you’ll find several different repayment options to choose from. You can either stick with the standard, 10-year repayment plan, choose an income-driven repayment option if you qualify, or even extend your repayment plan in almost any fashion that works.

Some of those options, however, will leave you paying mostly interest and almost nothing – or even nothing at all – toward the principal of your loan. And if you find yourself in that kind of repayment plan, paying off your loans is practically impossible.

Kirk Chisholm of Innovative Wealth says he wishes

Kirk Chisholm of Innovative Wealth says he wishes he knew just how little some employers and industries care about hiring college-educated workers.

“Once you get that first job, the employer of your second job really only cares about what you did in your first job,” says Chisholm. “My second employer never even asked me about my college experience. All they wanted to know was how I did in my last job.”

and her husband owe more than $400,000 in student loan debt

 and her husband owe more than $400,000 in student loan debt. While this is partly due to her husband’s medical school education, at least some of the debt was unnecessary and “her fault,” she says.

“Student loans were so tempting, especially when I was in graduate school making less than $15,000 a year.”

Because she never took the time to figure out how long she would need to repay her loans, Alford took out and additional $8,000 to hold herself over until she found another job. In hindsight, she realizes she would be so much better off if she had found another way to get by.

“Every student should know how long it will take them to pay back their student loans, and what they’ll have to do or sacrifice to pay them back faster than that,” says Alford.

Understanding how your loans work is a great motivator. “They should also know how much daily interest their student loans accrue to light the fire under them to pay them back,” she adds.

We’ve all heard stories of students who borrowed

We’ve all heard stories of students who borrowed money for school only to waste it in the worst of ways – the spring break trip to Mexico, new clothes, and fun nights at their favorite watering hole. This story plays out all across the country, leaving graduates owing more money than they can reasonably pay back, and with little to show for it.

Tom Drake of Canadian Finance Blog says he fell into the trap of believing that student loans were simply “free money,” and with disastrous results.

“It was very overwhelming, and after paying for the basics like tuition and textbooks, I started spending the rest in frivolous ways,” he says. “While all my friends loved my new car stereo, the money eventually ran out and I was left with bills to pay and the latter part of my college days were very tough financially.”