Tips for high-schoolers concerned about high education costs and their financial future

Being in high-school is when you first experience many adult freedoms without the responsibility of being one. The benefits of being mature are not the same as maturity itself. If you deny it, life will catch up with you; if you accept it, life will be less fun; and if you deal with it well, you will probably experience more advantages of adulthood. On a multiple choice test the last of these three options is the correct answer.

Understand debt without income is risky

If you retain only one thing from this article remember this: Debt without income is very risky. It is about as risky as jumping off a three story building thinking you won't brake a limb, driving drunk without a seat belt, promiscuous unprotected sex etc. Any debt, whether it is from education costs,  credit cards, auto loans or mortgages  ̶  all of which you will become very familiar with as you get older  ̶  is like a potentially addictive drug that will woo you into complacency before undermining your world. Income on the other hand is your best friend, very useful in the world, and essential to live. You will most likely be required to earn it when you get older ̶ for real.

Know that reality changes

Another very important concept you should be informed of is that it is very easy to confuse reality with illusion. In high-school we are taught how to pass standardized tests, learn how to think “methodologically,” and how to follow through on the instructions teachers give. This is quite possibly the only reality you know, but it is not the only one. The reality of adults is very different, and is about as far away in the future as ninth grade is for a senior ̶ closer than you think. If you think your life will be super easy after high-school or college, know that it is more likely your home team will win the Superbowl at least two years in a row. Adult reality is not accommodating, and does not care if you pass or fail ̶ this will be your world within a few years.

Beware adulthood involves responsibility

If you do not accept what adulthood entails, you will be at a serious disadvantage. Consider this a wake up call no less important than a pain reliever after a hangover. If you are lucky, your parents are actively preparing you for adulthood in a good way. If they have not, be aware life also involves a serious dose of difficulty, work, struggle, sacrifice, and sadness; these responsibilities far exceed anything you will be challenged with in high-school, so don't fool yourself in to thinking you're ready to bat over 300, because you're probably not. There is a high probability you will be forced, yes forced, to perform perfectly at something you hate when you become an adult. There is very little chance of escaping this reality and the sooner you accept it, the better prepared your mind will be.

Learn to invest

Investing is essential if you want to get out of the adult trap as soon as possible. College is a high-risk investment; it used to be a low-risk investment, but is no longer. Investing takes skill, it is not easy even if you are led to believe it is. No trading software tool in the world will cause you to make money, you have to know what to invest in, and that takes careful planning. Slow and steady, as boring as it is, really is a good way to do it. Learn about dollar-cost-averaging, FDIC insurance, play investment simulations ̶ also not reality as they do not include commissions and hidden fees; learn everything there is to know about money and do not assume you will excel at investing.

Do not assume anything

Assumption is your enemy and is the most useful tool the world has into making you think something that is not the case. If you do not have something confirmed and preferably written down, it is not guaranteed. For example, do not assume you are so amazing that you will not have to deal with real bad problems after you leave high-school. Do not assume you will be able to buy a car with an amazing job because your grades are good, do not assume a degree will cause employers to beg you to work for them even if it is in something “assumed” to be lucrative. Assume nothing, things change, demand for people and skills fluctuates, mortality is only a breath away, competition can be fierce, assume nothing.