Broke, Busted and Disgusted with Adam Carroll
Explicit content warning
03/31/14 • 62 min
On this episode, we talk to Adam Carroll who created the documentary about the current student loan debt crisis called Broke, Busted and Disgusted.
We get a lot of questions about student loan debt but we didn’t understand just how dire the state of things was until we spoke to Adam. It’s so much worse than you can imagine. When BB&D is released it will be a wake-up call for a lot of people.
For many people starting college, they have no idea what it means to take out massive amounts of student loans. This is especially true for first-generation college kids. Some of them are leaving school with $70, $80, $120,000 of debt.
So, why is college so expensive now? Federal funding for education has been cut. Bankruptcy laws were changed in the early 2000s to exclude student loans from being discharged in nearly all circumstances.
That was carte blanche for the lenders. There was nearly no way they would lose money and they opened their coffers accordingly. There is now $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt.
What can you do to avoid the crushing debt? You don’t have to go to the most expensive college that will have you. Take some classes at a local community college. Not only are the classes cheaper but you can live at home to save on living expenses as well.
Get as many grants and scholarships as you can. Choose your major carefully. Make sure that your degree is in a field that is in demand and that your salary will be enough to live on and pay back your loans.
A college education is still a good investment for most people but we have to redefine what college means.
Show Notes
Broke, Busted and Disgusted (Documentary): A pro-education documentary exploring traditional and alternative higher education institutions, and the rising costs of getting a degree.
Winning The Money Game: A Rule Book to Achieving Financial Success for Young People (Book): The book by Adam Carroll which is a guide to being debt free and gain financial freedom.
Inequality For All (Documentary): One of the best ways to help people understand the challenges we face, is with a movie that can grab an audience and move them to action. And this movie will do exactly that. — Robert Reich
Is College Worth It? (Book): A Former United States Secretary of Education and a Liberal Arts Graduate Expose the Broken Promise of Higher Education.
Debt Reduction Snowball Calculator via Vertex42.com: A site for excel spreadsheet nerds. Debt elimination spreadsheet.
Help Out By Leaving a Review on iTunes
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode, we talk to Adam Carroll who created the documentary about the current student loan debt crisis called Broke, Busted and Disgusted.
We get a lot of questions about student loan debt but we didn’t understand just how dire the state of things was until we spoke to Adam. It’s so much worse than you can imagine. When BB&D is released it will be a wake-up call for a lot of people.
For many people starting college, they have no idea what it means to take out massive amounts of student loans. This is especially true for first-generation college kids. Some of them are leaving school with $70, $80, $120,000 of debt.
So, why is college so expensive now? Federal funding for education has been cut. Bankruptcy laws were changed in the early 2000s to exclude student loans from being discharged in nearly all circumstances.
That was carte blanche for the lenders. There was nearly no way they would lose money and they opened their coffers accordingly. There is now $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt.
What can you do to avoid the crushing debt? You don’t have to go to the most expensive college that will have you. Take some classes at a local community college. Not only are the classes cheaper but you can live at home to save on living expenses as well.
Get as many grants and scholarships as you can. Choose your major carefully. Make sure that your degree is in a field that is in demand and that your salary will be enough to live on and pay back your loans.
A college education is still a good investment for most people but we have to redefine what college means.
Show Notes
Broke, Busted and Disgusted (Documentary): A pro-education documentary exploring traditional and alternative higher education institutions, and the rising costs of getting a degree.
Winning The Money Game: A Rule Book to Achieving Financial Success for Young People (Book): The book by Adam Carroll which is a guide to being debt free and gain financial freedom.
Inequality For All (Documentary): One of the best ways to help people understand the challenges we face, is with a movie that can grab an audience and move them to action. And this movie will do exactly that. — Robert Reich
Is College Worth It? (Book): A Former United States Secretary of Education and a Liberal Arts Graduate Expose the Broken Promise of Higher Education.
Debt Reduction Snowball Calculator via Vertex42.com: A site for excel spreadsheet nerds. Debt elimination spreadsheet.
Help Out By Leaving a Review on iTunes
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
How Stocks, Bonds, and Funds Work
We’ll discuss a boring subject, how stocks, bonds, and funds work but make it less boring by using Arrested Development to illustrate our points!
Recently, we published a post called, An Illustrated Guide to Investment Types. Before writing, Matt asked Andrew to explain to him how stocks and bonds are born. Andrew knows that Matt’s favorite show is Arrested Development, so he put it in terms Matt could understand – The Banana Stand.
He described the whole scenario using characters and businesses from Arrested Development. For those familiar with the show, this will make things clear and fun to learn. For non-fans, it’s still useful in its simplicity.
Stocks: You have a company that you own 100%. But you want some money to expand. So you sell some stock. An investor gives you money and you give them some ownership of the company.
Bonds: Bonds are another way to raise money. It’s a debt investment. Investors loan money for a set period of time at a fixed interest rate. The bulk of the money comes at the end of the set time period. Bonds are a very safe investment.
Funds: Funds are bundles of stocks. You get a variety which is important because you want to be diversified. Mutual funds are chosen by a person or people and index funds are chosen by a computer. Index funds are usually cheaper than mutual funds.
CD: A certificate of deposit works as a bond but you make even less money. It’s the bank’s way of screwing you slightly less than if the money were in a savings account.
Hope this explained things and you enjoyed the infographic!
Show Notes
Betterment: The easy way to invest.
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Next Episode
Is Frugal Living More Trouble Than It’s Worth?
Frugal living is pretty trendy right now, but how frugal is too frugal? Should you clip coupons, wash and reuse your tin foil? Where do we draw the line? Being frugal is a good thing. But frugal living can be taken too far and sometimes even cost you more in the long run. Walk the fine line without crossing over. Is there such a thing as being too frugal?
At its core, being frugal is a good thing. But lots of things that are fundamentally good can be harmful and destructive if taken to an extreme. Drinking water can even be deadly if you overdo it. We should all be encouraged to be frugal in certain areas but don’t go nuts!
And being frugal is only one side of the coin. There is only so much you can cut out of your spending, however, there is no cap on how much money you can make. If you’re down to minimum expenses than maybe it’s time to find ways to make some extra money on the side or create some passive income.
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