Are you ready to discover an alternative to student loans? I think you’ll like it. Here we go…

It all started when my wife wanted to go back to school. That requires a lot of funding — no easy task. Because we didn’t like the idea of going into debt, we knew we had to find another way to help pay for college. That’s when we came across PerkStreet Financial. Wow, a debit card that pays you cash back on tuition payments? That’s amazing!

The Profound Revelation

I think you see where this is going. It wasn’t long before we asked ourselves, “Can we pay for college with our debit card?” Rushing to our community college’s website, we found that the answer was a definite yes!

Then we took it a step further. Instead of borrowing money with a student loan and paying it off using our debit card (which not all banks allow), why don’t we simply become our own bankers? That’s right! Why don’t we actually save up how much money we’ll need to cash flow school and use our PerkStreet debit card? Now that was a revelation, my friends. You might be wondering how we do this. Allow me to explain.

How To Cash Flow College

There are a number of steps to financial success, but sometimes you need specifics to understand how to exactly take each step. To cash flow college requires that you adhere to some foundational principles:

• Determine how much money you need to get through college. Don’t forget to include tuition, books, and any loss of income you might incur from working less. Find out precisely how much you need and stick with that amount!
• Start saving like there’s no tomorrow. You’re going to have to get radical to become your own banker. Remember, you’ll be saving money in the long run by not having to pay interest on student loans! Sell stuff, look for ways to cut down on expenses, and take on a frugal mindset!
• Always fill up your college fund month by month as you deplete it. Let’s say your fund is $20,000. One month, you spend $800 which leaves you with $19,200. Throw all your extra money toward the $800 gap and get that fund back up to $20,000! Get focused and pour all your extra money into to this area.
• Find side jobs to supplement your income! There are plenty out there if you know where to look.

Use Your PerkStreet Debit Card For College: Here’s Why

According to CollegeBoard.com, the average 4-year education at a state college for in-state residents costs $30,420. If you used your debit card for this at 2% cash back, that would give you over $600 cash back – and that doesn’t even count some miscellaneous expenses associated with college like transportation and books!

We’ve decided to fund our college education with PerkStreet. No interest and loads of cash back, is there anything better? I think not.

Do you have any tips to help remove debt from the education equation? Have you used PerkStreet to earn cash back on another massive expense? Let us all know below!

John Frainee is the webmaster and a writer for the ever-growing blog, The Christian Dollar. John enjoys exploring how faith and finance interact, spending time with his wife and family, and meeting readers from all over the web. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Bible and Christian Counseling and loves encouraging others in their financial pursuits. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Interested in a guest column on the PerkStreet Blog like John has? Email the editor at kyle.psaty[at]perkstreet[dot]com

Want to earn cash back, debt-free, by spending your own money? Check out the PerkStreet Financial debit card today! It only takes 5 minutes to apply!