Chapter X: My Advice (and Regret) During My Time in College
If I could go back and tell the younger me how I should spend my time in college, I would tell him to do a lot differently, and a lot of things the same. Think of this as the advice of a millionaire to a young student with ambition but lack of experience. I wish I had this kind of advice during my years in college.
Apply for all the scholarships and financial aid that you are eligible for. I worked as a work-study worker for the Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid during my college years. What I can tell you is that not enough people apply for scholarships. A lot of the time, I got the scholarship and financial aid because I was one of the few people to apply the earliest. I remember one of the first things I did on New Year’s Day was to open up FAFSA.gov (the website for American financial aid), apply, and select the option to turn in the tax return later. I wanted my application to be the first to be considered. This makes me sound like a lunatic, but I really did not have any other option—either get the money for school, or there was no other option.
Get serious and develop good money habits early. This will pay off a long way forward on your journey to financial freedom. Money is important in the areas where it matters. Anything you don’t consider important will not stay with you for long.
Don’t believe me? Go tell your best friend that they are not important to you and see what happens.
Keep decent grades. Good grades will lead to more scholarships and more grants. It’s just a wise thing to do financially. You don’t need excellent grades to make a million bucks.
Make more friends and create more authentic relationships. This is by far my biggest regret from college. I am grateful to have the friends I have now from college, but I think I could have had more if I focused on it. Coming from a computer science degree, we are not exactly the most social animals, but I realize the importance of relationships now, something I didn’t realize back then. A lot of my college friends are now also my VIP clients and partners. If you are still in college, I would strongly encourage you to spend time and invest in the relationships of those around you. Don’t just dig into class all the time. Go to a social event, play a sport, have a life!
If I could trade an A for some Bs and Cs in exchange for more friends, I would do it over and over again. Trust me on this. The A on your transcript will not have any significance in your life after you graduate, but a good friend will make all the difference.
I recall struggling in my last couple of semesters because I realized computer science was not really for me, but I had to finish anyway. If it weren’t for a friend who helped carry me over the hump, I wouldn’t have made it to graduation. So when he asked if I could come to his wedding in Austria, I said yes without hesitation and made it happen. That’s the kind of relationship I’m talking about.
When was the last time you had a friend ask you to fly across the continent, and you were more than happy to say yes first and figure out the details later? That’s the kind of relationship I’m talking about.
Jenny and I ended up having a great time, and it was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken.
I will say it again: If you are a nerd like I was in college, give up a few A’s and invest that time in building relationships. You can thank me later.
Get a job while you’re in school. I believe this is doable for hustlers like you and me. A job is essentially the marketplace that will test your skill and character. It will also teach you how to interact with people and how to get paid. You’ll learn how to ask for a raise, which will help you ask for your commission later in life. Just remember, you work to learn, not for the money. Learn all you can and be the best at your job, and you’ll see doors start to open up for you. That is a great attitude to keep for the rest of your life.
Start to learn about investing. You don’t need to be fanatical about it like me, but if you want to multiply money, you’d better learn now and learn early. Buy a silver coin, buy an option on a stock you love. That will make you pay more attention to the investing world.
Let me just talk about relationships a little more here because I think most people will find their soulmate during their college years or later. Like it or not, your significant other plays a major role in your financial life. If you want to build and he or she wants to spend, or if you want to take a risk and they lose sleep over that rental property, it will not work out. Like T. Harv Eker said, a financial blueprint needs to be on the same page when it comes to wealth building. You’re in college, play all you want (and you should), but when it gets serious, let’s talk about money.
One other mistake I made during my college years was that I spent the majority of my time with my ex-girlfriend and dropped other relationships. My friends must have hated me during that time. I even dropped my only hobby—tennis—during my college years, and I will forever regret that.
Yes, spend time with your significant other, but don’t drop your friends. Take it from me.
While most people graduate with humongous student debt, I am very proud that I graduated with decent savings that were enough for me to buy my first home right after graduation (the home was only $79,000 back then with a 20% down payment). I didn’t splurge or try to show off to anyone during my college years. I applied for financial aid, I saved, I worked, I stayed and ate at home. Why, you ask? I don’t know. I just knew that one day I would need to use that money to do something good. It’s hard enough to start life from zero—I just wanted to have something before I started my work life. A lot of my classmates started life from the negative (student loans). I saw that future, and I did not want it to be me. Don’t let it be you either. Student loans are bad debt. There is no asset (other than your labor) to back them up.
Lessons from the Chapter:
Apply for all the free money (legally) that you can.
Be aware of the student loans you take.
Invest in authentic relationships.
Learn about investing.
Make a goal to have a big savings account after you graduate.