College just is not that expensive if you have a local state one to go to within commuting distance.
Example: State tuition and books in my state would be around $10,000 a year. That's $40,000 for a college education, which is about $7,000 more than the median new car price.
And that assumes they never work a single minute in their life in jr high, high school or college to help pay for it. And never study hard enough or are too lazy to apply for scholarships or grants. And don't participate in a sport that will fund part of their experience.
Now, a kid starting off and mowing yards in 9th grade could make $100 a week for 30 weeks. That's $12,000 saved up for college by the time they start.
A kid working two 8 hour shifts at minimum wage each week could easily make the same amount, but they would probably have to wait until they were 16, so that's only about $6,000 instead of $12,000.
If they kept up working at the same pace during college, they could make another $48,000 in those 4 years. That gives them a bit of spending money and a paid for college degree.
Now, a local community college might cover the first 2 years if a local university wasn't around. That would mean that room and board costs would only be needed for 2 years instead of 4. That could add another $20,000 to the tab, which still isn't that much money.
But let's take the worst case, no local community college or state university.
$20,000 a year for 4 years, or $80,000.
No market for hiring out for yard work as a young kid.
16 hours a week minimum wage starting in 11th grade and thru college. $5 after-tax wage * 16 hours per week * 48 weeks a year * 6 years = $23,040.
That leaves a debt of $80,000 - $23,040 = $56,960. That's a goodly sum, but it's also less than 2 median priced new cars. Or less than one monster pickup truck which a veritable host of people appear to be able to afford.
It's a non-trivial amount of debt but not something that requires a lifetime of debt slavery to overcome, provided one gets a median family income out of the education and is willing to hustle for a few years.
A room-mate to share rent and expenses with (or a spouse who works AND NO KIDS) could reasonably be expected to save $500 a month in rent and utilities. A side hustle bringing in $300 a month isn't unreasonable, either. Those two options could mean paying off the entire loan at 6% interest in less than 5 years.
And then all that money becomes available for saving and investing afterwards.
College doesn't have to be horribly expensive. It's just that a lot of people choose to make it that way. They take 5 years to graduate instead of 4. They go out of state instead of in-state. They go out of town instead of in town. They go private (without compensating scholarships) instead of public. They buy new cars on their student loan money instead of bicycling or driving a beater. They get an apartment all for themselves instead of living at home or in a shared living arrangement to cut costs. And they never get a job until they are out of college.
