22-year-old college student blows her $90,000 college fund and blames her parents

[Igel]

23. Keep this in mind.

Because when you're 18 and given the student loan money, it's your money.

You can have it applied directly to your tuition/fees, but there's always more money for living expenses. You can apply for the maximum you can get and blow through it, reject part of it, or sequester what you can.

I applied for loans and got them when I was in grad school. Every year, every term. I ended up with $13k debt after 6 years, almost all of it from my first year when I was out of state. I got some dept. funded aid, but if you add up that $13k in loans and dept. aid there's a huge gap. Even my first year I worked 20 hours a week, and seldom worked less. I got the loans approved, but never used the full amount and often didn't bother to get them disbursed. They were there for emergencies; beer, restaurants, spring break, a car, trips home were not emergencies. Beans, cheese, the occasional package of hamburger meat or turkey on after-holiday special were fine ... for years. Broadcast tv on a 10-year-old set in a 480 sq ft 1-room apt. with a kitchen I could stand in (but not while holding that turkey--one or the other had to be outside the kitchen, and if the oven door or the fridge door was open I'd have to step out and take the turkey with me).

I was 30+. Those who were teens and in their early 20s? They get loan money, they take and spend loan money. Even if they don't need it.