Posted on

Big News! Debt-Free College Help You LISTEN To!

For Parents of Kids Ages 12–26

by

Now there’s a faster, easier way to get debt-free college help!

Today I’m launching a podcast—where I’ll be helping parents of kids ages 12–26 set their kids up to graduate college completely debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love—even if they don’t get a single scholarship.

You can subscribe in the usual ways—or, for even greater impact, click here to watch me in my studio, recording the podcast most people only hear on audio.

Listen to just the first 8 minutes, and you’ll be hooked.

To learn why episode 1 of this podcast is so important for parents to listen to as early in the college journey as possible, read on.debt-free college podcast

As a parent, your greatest need isn’t for more information; your greatest need is for hope.

You need to be inspired that it’s absolutely possible for you to get your kids through college debt-free and into jobs they love afterward—without compromising one bit on your kids’ future dreams and potential.

And without taking up weeks of time you just don’t have.

You need to know that you’re following someone who’s capable of leading you.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Morgan Stanley’s Alix Magner Buys 30 Copies of LAUNCH For Her Clients

Below, the Top 9 Questions Parents Are Asking Me About This Book

by

LAUNCH

To see a list of the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH —along with detailed answers—scroll to the red print below. 

When Morgan Stanley’s Alix Magner calls you, you sit up a little straighter in your chair.

Alix is a high-powered, Stanford educated wealth management advisor who works with Minneapolis area families who have millions in assets—and families who are strategizing to get to that point.

When Alix told me that she’d read my book cover-to-cover and wanted to buy 30 copies for her clients, I jumped out of my chair.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

5 Ways Teens Can Save Earnings—Without Damaging Financial Aid (AUDIO)

by

Your daughter’s 15 or older, and she’s earning and saving her own money. Whooo hoo! But wait—just a minute. Could the money she’s saving in her own name end up sabotaging future college financial aid awards?

Learn the sobering answer here—along with 5 safe, legal ways your kids can keep their own money under their own control during the college years.

debt-free college podcastJoin me, Jeannie Burlowski, for episode 5 of the Launch Your Teens podcast, and you’ll learn:

1. Why it’s important to think carefully about student earnings after December 31st of the 10th grade year

2. Why January 1st of the sophomore year of college is liberation day, the day no parent or student financial decisions can hurt undergraduate financial aid ever again

3. Why putting the cash your family hopes to save for college into a grandparent-owned 529 college savings plan can be a brilliant idea

4. Which kinds of student income will never hurt college financial aid awards

(14 min.)

You’d rather read than listen? OK you can do that here!

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Having Marijuana in this Form is a Felony

by

With all the national conversation around legalizing marijuana, many teens are jumping to the uninformed conclusion that it’s low-risk for them.

Experts, however, are extremely worried about the impact of marijuana on developing adolescent brains.

Not only that—but there’s one certain kind of marijuana that’s so dangerous that possession of it is a felony. Make sure your kids know this, because if one of their friends pulls it out, they’ll want to run for the hills as fast as they can.

marijuana

My grim conversation with the police officer

When I interviewed a police officer to get information for this article, he told me in grim terms that the form of marijuana called “wax” (also known as “dabs” or “hash oil”) is especially dangerous for teens and adults due to its exorbitantly high THC level.

It’s so dangerous that possession of even a tiny amount of it is a felony.

All teens who use marijuana, or who have friends who use marijuana, need to google the word “felony” to understand the prison term that results from this—even for first offenses, even for juveniles.

This is one of the strongest arguments there is for being extremely careful who you get into a car with.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

3 Reasons Every Teen Needs A Part-Time Job (AUDIO)

by

This episode also includes a hilarious idea for making your teen want to go out and get a part-time job!debt-free college podcastJoin me, Jeannie Burlowski, for episode 4 of the Launch Your Teens podcast, and you’ll learn:

1. How working a part-time job increases the odds that a teen will be academically successful in college.

2. How the advice of author Meg Jay can help your kids leave behind fake, empty confidence and develop genuine professional confidence.

3. The most interesting points Jeffrey J. Selingo made about this subject in his acclaimed Washington Post article.

(10 min.)

You’d rather read than listen? OK you can do that here!

Do you worry that having a job might damage your kid’s GPA?

Read the helpful, reassuring article I’ve written on this subject here.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

What Nobody’s Saying About the College Scandal

by

By now you’ve heard about the college admissions scandal that has television celebrities such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin (and 48 other parents and college staff) facing prison time for falsifying college application information and paying bribes as high as $200,000 to $6.5 million to get students into elite and Ivy League universities.

This scandal is a big deal. It’s got celebrity and other high-profile participants scrambling to hire high-priced consultants that advise the wealthy on how to navigate life in federal prison.

Here, the top two questions every parent should be asking about this scandal:

college admissions scandal

First question: “Is elite and Ivy League education really so important to future success and human happiness—that parents should give everything to make it happen for their kids?”

Second question: “Do we sell our kids short—do we compromise the quality of their future lives—when we don’t push them toward elite and Ivy League education?”

Here are 5 reasons that the answers to these questions are “no” and “no.“

Continue Reading »

Posted on

12 Ways to Get Grad School Paid For

by

So, your kid just got into graduate school or medical school. That’s great! Now you’re wondering, “What can students do to get their grad school paid for?” Here are the 12 ways to get grad school paid for that I give to my clients at GetIntoMedSchool.com.

Share this article with a student whose financial future you care about!

get your grad school paid for

1. Try to become an employee of the school you got into.

Call 10 different numbers at the school you got into, and try to become an employee of that institution. Keep trying. Maybe you become a teaching assistant for an undergraduate course, or maybe you serve food, or maybe you work in the university’s daycare center, as my friend Susie did years ago at the University of Minnesota. One of your employee benefits may very likely be reduced tuition. Ask the school you got into if this is ever done. If you want to get your grad school paid for, this should be one of the first strategies you try.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Make Your Teen Into a Brilliant, Frugal Money Manager (AUDIO)

by

Your kids won’t think today’s strategy is funny, but you will—when you watch them scrambling to make a dollar stretch until it screams. Ha ha ha ha!

debt-free college podcastJoin me, Jeannie Burlowski, for episode 3 of the Launch Your Teens podcast, where you’ll learn the most loved parenting strategy on my blog. This simple strategy will help you feel far less teen-related stress, it’ll save you time, energy, and money, and it’ll help you equip the kids you love to become brilliant money managers.

(11 min.)

You’d rather read than listen? OK you can do that here!

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Could Graduating High School With an AA Degree Hurt a Kid?

by

Today I’m writing on topic I never, ever thought I would. Could graduating high school with an AA degree in any way do a student more harm than good? My eyes are bugging out just writing that.

graduating high school with an AA degree

Could graduating high school with an AA degree HURT your kid?

For many moms and dads, one of their proudest parenting moments occurs when their 17-year-old walks across the stage at high school graduation with two years of college already completed. An entire two-year AA college degree already sewn up—entirely at state expense. An amazing, stunning achievement! All while dodging the pitfalls of AP classes—and still enjoying a rich, full high school experience.

Parents who get to experience this proud moment get tingly with excitement thinking of their child confidently diving into third year college courses at age 18, finishing college with a bachelor’s degree at age 20, slashing college bills by half, and having extra years of life before age 22 to tour Europe, volunteer, or start piling up real world work experience that rockets their careers far ahead of their peers. (Making them stellar candidates for grad school or medical school, I might add—if that ever becomes a goal.)

Other parents aren’t so sure.

“Might graduating high school with an AA degree keep my child out of the Ivy League?”

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Elite Education Leads to a Happier Life. True or False? (AUDIO)

by

Is it really true that expensive, elite private education is so enriching that it automatically leads to a happier, more fulfilled life after college? What does the research say?debt-free college podcast

Join me, Jeannie Burlowski, for episode 2 of the Launch Your Teens podcast, and you’ll learn 6 jaw-dropping, research-backed facts that just might make you think, “Wow—maybe the Ivy League isn’t such a great idea after all.”

You’ll also learn why “for profit” colleges should be avoided like the plague, and which great colleges are likely to be far better bargains than your local state university.

(9 min.)

You’d rather read than listen? OK, you can do that here!

Continue Reading »

Posted on

How to Skyrocket the Growth of Your Teen’s Brain

In Just Minutes

by

Dr. Charles Fay of LoveandLogic.com is an expert at helping parents grow a teen’s brain by leaps and bounds—while helping adults enjoy a less stressful, more fun family life.

teen's brain

Dr. Fay recently said this on the subject of growing a teen’s brain:

“At Love and Logic®, we believe that kids are best prepared for the real world when we allow them to do as much thinking as possible. It’s good practice for the real world, and it keeps the monkey off of our backs most of the time. Here’s the problem. Do you know kids who like to keep adults doing all of the thinking? Do you know kids who are good at tricking us into doing so?”

One strategy for staying out of this trap is to use plenty of questions.

“The more questions we ask,” Dr. Fay says, “the better thinkers our kids will become.”

Why does this strategy work for growing a teen’s brain?

The human brain naturally seeks closure. When we ask a lot of sincere, good-hearted questions with genuine interest and empathy, it’s like we flip a switch in a teen’s brain that keeps him or her groping through possible answers. Sometimes for long after we’ve left the room.

Dr. Fay says that if we do this, our teen’s brain will have “less energy left over for power-struggles.”

Exactly what tired parents long to hear.

If you’re looking for ways to grow your teen’s brain while doing a lot less mental heavy lifting yourself, try using variations on these great Dr. Charles Fay questions:

Continue Reading »