Going To College? Invest In Wisdom

I was reading through Proverbs, looking for some direct instruction about finances, and I stumbled upon something very interesting. Read these scripture verses, and see if you notice a theme:

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold. (Proverbs 3:13-14)

Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold (Proverbs 8:10)

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose
understanding rather than silver! (Proverbs 16:16)

Now I might be a bit slower than your average bear, but it seems to me that the Lord is saying that wisdom is more important than gold or silver. Wisdom is worthy of searching for and pursuing. Wisdom and knowledge are worth the effort, and worth all the hard work. It is more important than investing in gold - AND it will get you a better annual average rate of return!

For some families, these verses may help them as they consider the cost of college. College is worth the effort. College may be worth the investment. Nobody knows your family, your finances, and your child's future income better than you. With all those factors in mind, it may be worth taking a college loan - particularly since it has better dividends than gold and silver (which are doing pretty well right now, what with the government printing money like crazy, LOL!)

I say this with some trepidation, however, because the Bible also has a LOT to say about debt (none of it good). This is DEFINITELY something you should pray about and consider carefully.

One of my friends was talking to me about college debt, and how much debt was OK. From a secular perspective, you want to look at some specific statistics. Look up the statistics for one college at a time. What percent of students graduate on time? What percent of students are employed within 6 months of graduating? What is the average income for graduates? What is the average income for students getting a specific degree? How much debt does the average student accumulate at that college? Then take all the information and put it all together. Can the average student get a job that will pay off the average debt in a reasonable amount of time?

The Lord appears to be a big fan of investing your money in wisdom. It is worth it. How MUCH to invest can vary from family to family. It is worth going over the numbers though. After all, it is better to get wisdom than to pursue gold!