Local Author to Share His Tips on Graduating College Debt-Free

Growing up, John Lane knew he would be fully responsible for his own college tuition expenses, but dreaded the thought of having student loan debt.

So, he devised a plan: Work through middle school, high school and college, secure scholarships, save as much money as possible, and graduate from college debt free. He completed bachelor’s and masters degrees without incurring any student loan debt and now works for financial planning firm David White & Associates in San Ramon.

To help others achieve the same goal, he wrote a book, How to Graduate from College Debt Free, which will soon be available from all major online book retailers.  On Wednesday, May 18, he’ll share his advice with local middle school students, high school students and their parents in a workshop at 3150 Crow Canyon Pl., Ste. 200 in San Ramon.

Lane said his workshop and book address the timely issue of rising tuition costs.

“Families are really being hit with the perfect storm,” he said. “We have a bad job market with main breadwinners who are unemployed and can’t afford to pay for their own retirement, let alone their child’s college education. The bad economy has in turn led the government to cut their education budgets, especially in California, and that means they’ve had to raise tuition to make up for that shortfall. So we’ve seen about a 200 percent increase in tuition from 2003 to today.”

The workshop will cover topics such as today’s cost of a college education, how to secure scholarships and general money management skills. Lane plans to combine concrete financial concepts, interactive exercises and personal anecdotes to get his message across, he said.

Lane said if middle and high school students consistently work part-time jobs – even just babysitting or mowing lawns – they can save enough to cover a large chunk of their college education.

“If you don’t go out and buy clothes or the newest video game and get in the mindset that you’re doing it for your future, you can earn as much as $25-50,000 by the time you get to college,” he said.

Lane added that the workshop will teach attendees not only how to graduate from college debt-free, but how to develop skills that can benefit their lives over the long run, such as sacrifice, delayed gratification, budgeting, salesmanship and networking.

“The workshop is designed to provide students and parents with a plan so they can start working toward graduating from college debt-free,” he said. “It’s the initial step.”

The workshop runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and costs $79. One admission includes three seats, ideally for one student and his or her parents. To register, contact Lane at (925) 413-7337 or graduatecollegedebtfree@gmail.com.