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No College Degree Equates To Poverty And A Life Of Debt?

by Brad Chaffee on June 8, 2009

in Money Management

I got a little annoyed last week, when it was suggested that for someone with only a high school diploma, they were limited to working at the checkout at Walmart. (This argument was used to explain why debt was needed by low income families to get by.) Believing this is ridiculous, and spreading it around for someone without a degree to hear, is irresponsible!  This is America!! Imagine someone with only a high school diploma, hearing someone say this and believing it.  Dreams can be crushed before they ever have a chance to germinate.  This is why I am such a strong believer in teaching people that they can do whatever they want, if they are willing to do what it takes to achieve it.  If you do nothing, you will be nothing! (Sounds harsh right?  But how can you be something, if you have done nothing to get there?)

Yeah, there might be some folks out there that do not aspire to be anything more, and that is okay for them, but the rest need encouragement! Here are some things you need to know that will keep you from accepting and keeping a cashier position, because someone else says that’s all you can be!!  For the record, I am not belittling anyone who might be a cashier.  I am simply responding to the idea that if you have only a high school diploma, that’s all you can be, leaving you forced to accept debt as your only means of survival.

  • Wherever you are, even if it is at the bottom, doesn’t mean you have to stay there! This may come as a surprise to many, but minimum wage is not intended to support a family.  It is intended to give someone a starting point in the work force.  It allows you to build some confidence in yourself, as well as prove to others that you are reliable, trustworthy, and hard working, just to name a few.  It provides you with some references to use at the next stage in your working life.  If you make minimum wage and are sick of it, go look for something that pays more.  Thinking that the employer should support a family, by paying someone with minimum wage skills more money, just because those wages do not provide adequately for them, in my opinion, is wrong!
  • Education does not come from a degree, it comes from knowledge! College does make things easier, but have you ever known an unemployed grad student?  It’s not the end all be all, and it certainly isn’t the only way to success.  There are tons of jobs that you can do that can pay very well, but it’s up to you to make it happen.

“You don’t need fancy highbrow traditions or money to really learn.  You just need people with the desire to better themselves.” – Adam Cooper and Bill Collage

  • Knowledge is found for free at your local library…GO READ! The average millionaire reads a non-fiction book a month.  A great place to start is by reading No More Mondays & 48 Days To The Work You Love written by Dan Miller.  Dan Miller is a personal and business coach that teaches people that the traditional methods of employment are becoming obsolete.  He pushes the idea that if people did what they were passionate about, then not only would they be happier, but the work they do would not feel like work at all.  What are your strengths and how can you offer a legitimate service to others using those strengths?  Check out his website at 48days.com.

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones

  • Expand your limitations by getting online, which is also available at your local library. The internet has changed the way people do business, and made it easier for anyone to become successful if they choose to.  Darren over at Problogger wrote, Secrets For Blogging Your Way To A Six-Figure Income, to help others learn how to make additional income, or start a new career by blogging.  You can blog, and even become successful at it, without a college degree.  There are lots of non-traditional jobs like this where you can earn money for your talents.
  • There are tons of FREE resources! University of the People is a tuition free, online, open source university.  Here are the Top 10 Universities that offer free courses.  Don’t limit yourself by thinking that the information you need is not available!  Go look for it!
  • Stay away from negative people! There are people out there that always look at the glass as half empty.  (<~~ I used to be that guy) They have nothing positive to say about anything, and when someone around them starts to move forward, they usually take the opportunity to tell them why it can’t be done.  I have been friends with these kinds of people.  They want you to do exactly what they are doing, which is usually NOTHING!
  • Take responsibility for yourself! Nothing robs us of achieving success, as much as failing to realize that OUR own actions determine our path.  By thinking that someone else is keeping you from taking action or becoming successful, you yourself, become your biggest obstacle.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” – William James

Successful People With Only A HS Diploma And Even Less!

Mary Kay Ash – (Mary Kay Inc.) High School diploma!
Coco Chanel – (Chanel Number 5) One-time orphan!
Henry Ford – (Ford Motor Company) High School dropout!
Milton Hershey – (Hershey’s Milk Chocolate) Fourth grade education!
Frank Lloyd Wright – (Famous Architect) Never attended High School!
Walt Disney – (Disney) High School dropout!
Steve Jobs – (Apple Computers) College dropout!
Michael Dell – (Dell Inc.) College dropout!

Other well known degree free people:

Orville and Wilbur Wright
Thomas Edison
Rachel Ray
John D Rockefeller
Abraham Lincoln

Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs Without a Degree (Traditional Jobs)

Air Traffic Controller – $105,820 (no degree, but 4 years of college is needed)
Real Estate Broker – $76,930
Transportation Manager – $75,130
Non-retail Sales Supervisor – $73,670
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator – $66,900
Gaming Manager – $65,920
Power Distributor – $59,510
Detective – $58,750
Elevator Repairer – $58,500
Ship Engineer – $57,290

Others with income ranging anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000:
Firefighter
Police Officer
Mechanic
Appliance Repairmen
Plumber/Electrician
Salesmen
Web Designer
Entrepreneur (income obviously varies)

Proof that a high school diploma doesn’t equate to poverty or being unsuccessful!  Don’t believe the myth!  Having only a high school diploma also doesn’t mean that you have to use debt and credit cards to survive!  Do a budget, have a plan, and make better decisions with what you do make, and you will be more likely to escape or avoid poverty than if you use debt.  Debt is NOT a tool, and it will only keep you poor or struggling if you use it!  It will steal your hope, and cause you to see yourself as the victim that just can’t get ahead.  (That’s the result of thinking debt is your best option, because when it doesn’t work, you have nothing to look forward to.) With that said I am currently taking classes, debt free, and believe that a degree will give you some advantages.  It’s just not the only way to success!  Get an education however you are able to, but do not accept that you can not be successful just because you don’t have a degree.

Are you a degree free success story?  Do you know somebody that is?  Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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What If You Were Recession Proof?

by Brad Chaffee on May 17, 2008

in Money Management

Are we experiencing a recession?

That seems to be the question of the year. If you watch the news, you are probably convinced that you should just give up. Don’t start digging that bunker just yet. The truth is that the U.S. is merely growing at a slower rate. From January to March the economy grew at the same rate of 0.6 percent, as the last quarter of 2007. Slow, but still growing.

A recession is defined as a period of economic decline; specifically, a decline in GDP, for two or more consecutive quarters. Maybe we should wait until we have one quarter of shrinkage before we start saving canned goods. So to answer the question if we are indeed in a recession the answer is NO, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t on the brink of one.

How should we prepare?

The answer to this question is actually a very easy one, and that is you should manage your own economy at home first. Everyday we hear people complain about Government spending, yet 70% of us are living paycheck to paycheck. If we expect the Government to spend OUR money wisely, shouldn’t we do the same? If you had a financial plan that didn’t consist of putting that 60″ HDTV on credit, you could better position yourself in order to handle an economic down slide. Instead people are spending their own money UNWISELY while expecting the Government not to, so that it can subsidize poor decision making at home. Did you get all that?

By spending less than we make and saving for the future we can make a recession feel like a thunderstorm instead of a hurricane. If you didn’t have any debt payments, lived on a written budget, and had a savings of 3-6 months of expenses, would you worry about a “looming” recession? The only worrying you would be doing, is for the people who weren’t prepared. Not to worry though, just throw this book at them!!

What do we do if we have not prepared?

Number one would be to get started NOW! You are still going to have to hunker down for Hurricane Murphy but at least you will be more prepared for the next storm. Too bad you “needed” that 60″ toy! The good news is you can still sell that expensive T.V.! “SAY WHAT?” Well does the “looming” recession scare you or not? If you sold the T.V. you would be able to start your Total Money Makeover by saving $1,000 for your baby Emergency Fund and even have enough left over to pay on your smallest debt! How scared are you?

What if business has slowed, or we are unemployed?

If business is slow then you are probably going to have to get a second job, if you do not want to leave the first. Regardless, you are going to have to make more money! It might be a good time to ask yourself if you knew what you know now, would you still accept your current job? I’m not saying to quit your job but what if you set some goals and eventually worked your way out of your current low paying position? How nice would it be to be doing the job you loved? You would probably make more money doing something you loved and had a passion for.

If changing career paths is too much of a change then you must then consider your remaining options. A) You could look for a higher paying position in the same field, and/or B) get a second job delivering pizzas or waiting tables. When looking for a new job do not rely solely on the classifieds. In fact, you are far more likely to get a job if you thumb through the phone book for any businesses you are interested in, and placing a call. Of course you have to be prepared and ready to approach them in this way. For more about job search methods and choosing careers read 48 Days to the Work You Love.

For those that are unemployed, you need to be filling out applications every day. The Government is not going to find a job for you. Unless you are disabled you should have a job. The unemployment rate is around five percent but how much of that five percent choose not to work? Unemployment in Michigan is the highest in the country at around 7.2 percent, yet I know a very hard working woman in Michigan, that has two jobs despite this. She (Mikki) is doing a Total Money Makeover, and just like other Dave Ramsey fans, she is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I can guarantee you she is not complaining about unemployment rates?

YOU are responsible for YOU!

In closing I want to end with a line from the movie Pursuit of Happyness, where Will Smith is sharing a teachable moment with his son. “You gotta dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you, you can’t do it. You want something? GO GET IT…Period!” You hear the man, GO GET IT! If you are unwilling to do all that is necessary to succeed, then you can’t complain about the inevitable outcome.

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Teenagers and Decisions

by Brad Chaffee on April 14, 2008

in Money Management

Perhaps you are about to graduate High School. What’s next? The decisions you make now will eventually become your reality. The normal path to follow would be to choose a career with favorable pay, right? What college will you go to? What if I said you skipped a step? Maybe you should first consider how you are going to manage your money. If you can’t manage the money that career produces then what’s the point?

  • 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck! So basically, 70% of Americans don’t manage their money.

In my opinion NOW is the time you need to learn goal setting. This is when you ask yourself specific questions to which the answers determine your goals. For instance, how do you want your success to look? If you could see yourself as successful, what would you see and what would you have to do to get there? Set some goals, have a plan, be ready! Successful people set goals and write them down. Set personal, financial, and spiritual goals! Where will you be in 5 years?

  • “Goal setting should not mean hard work, it should mean enjoying yourself as you reach your vision. Getting what you really want should create enthusiasm and energy, not resistance and negativity.” www.success77.com


What do you want to be? Instead of picking something random because the pay is good, try choosing a vocation! Something you love! What would be your biggest contribution to others? If you are a Christian like me, how can you best serve God? Finding meaning and purpose in what you choose could make the difference between waking up on Monday morning hating where you are or enthusiastic about where you are going. The best book I have found to help in this area is 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller.

  • “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work another day in your life.” -Confucius

Learn to manage your money, set goals, and choose a vocation! If you learn how to do these three things you may never have to know why most people HATE Mondays. With a money plan, clear goals, and a passion for your work, you may find life becomes more enjoyable. Just knowing what your path looks like provides a sense of security and confidence, not to mention hope!

I am currently working on all of these things myself. The only difference is I am 33 not 17 or 18. You do not have to give up having fun to create a better life for yourself. Everybody wants to have fun, but learning how to delay pleasure in order to be prepared and ready is a sign of maturity. Dave Ramsey often says, “Children do what feels good, adults devise a plan”. I have been a child for a long time, but now I have a plan!

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