Debt-Free College Starts Here: Scholarships, FAFSA Tips, and Helping Teens Find the Right Path — with Shellee Howard | 483

0:00We are so excited to have Shellee Howard here. Guys, she is a mom of four who has gone through the thicket of sending them to college, applying for scholarships, and knowing the best ways to do that.

0:10Shellee Howard:Yes. And so when she wanted to come on our podcast, we were like, well, yeah, we would love to talk to you. Selfishly, yes. Selfishly. But also, we are jaw-dropped, actually, of the wisdom and the tips and the information that she actually shared. You know, with her, like Vanessa said, she has experience with four children getting them through college, nice colleges, like really kind of fancy colleges without debt. And then also the hundreds of families that she's also helped as the founder of CEO and CEO of College Ready. So she is a independent college strategist and she helps people get through college without using debt.

0:47And I would say that Shane and I know some stuff about colleges and scholarships, but But we, I found out quickly, I did not know. And she explained and gave us some really like great tips and insider information that we didn't know. I was going to say, have you ever heard us be quiet?

1:03Shellee Howard:I haven't. Yeah, we were silent the whole time. We were like taking notes, like listening, listening. Okay, this is so good. So she gave some really good stuff, like Vanessa said. And you know, she's also a bestselling author. I could kind of tell that. Like she just had all of her words. You can tell she's been doing this. As we mentioned at the end, her heart is obviously for these kids. and so we think as uh we think it's a great resource for you if you're a parent or if you know a parent share the podcast and we think it's going to help you a lot yeah this is definitely not just a job for her it is a calling and you are going to hear it in the podcast do you make good money but have nothing to show for it are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck do you have big dreams for your financial future do you want to get debt free but you don't want to live on beans and rice or you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes hey it's okay if you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month.

1:49Hey, it's okay if you want to seem like you have your finances all together or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances.

1:57Shellee Howard:We know what you're doing probably isn't working, but guess what? You're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa. We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey. We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know, plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals. We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation.

2:32Shellee Howard:We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate mortgages. And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to here and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. Welcome, Shelly, to the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. We are so excited, not only for our audience, but we also have... Selfishly. Yeah, selfishly. We are excited to have you here because we have students, children in high school, and we need all this information, girl.

3:04Well, I'm so excited to be here, not only to share with you ladies, but with your listeners. So hang in there because I'm going to give you all the answers to the questions. So I'm excited to share. Okay. So let's dive right in.

3:19Shellee Howard:Let's see. Let's see where we're going with this. You know, what's the biggest misconception parents have about what it takes to get into, you know, a top college or school? I think for any college, the biggest misconception is it's just like it was when they went. That's it. Oh, I would have never thought that. Oh yeah. Many people, they're like, we don't really think we need you. And I'm like, Oh, well, you know, please tell me a little about that. And they're like, well, I applied all by myself. Nobody helped me. And I got into college just fine. Now I changed my major five times and it took me seven years, but I, oh, and I went into debt, but I was just fine.

3:58And then we get into, oh yeah, maybe with help, it could have been a little bit better. So the misconception is that's number one. Number two is that the high school is going to do it. I don't care if you're private or public. It's a huge misconception. And I love high school counselors. It's not a bash on them, but they have a lot of high school students and they have no idea how much your family does or doesn't make. I was actually just talking to my hairdresser the other day because her son just graduated. It's like your guidance counselor. Yes. And because her son is one year ahead of my son or two years ahead of my son.

4:39So, you know, I get my information from her, but she was saying that their high school literally did nothing on scholarships, like never even told the kids where to find them or anything. And she said she went back and realized how much money that they lost or they missed out on the opportunity because it wasn't, they didn't know where to look for it, how it wasn't presented to them. And that is another misconception. You don't have to be poor to receive money. There's three buckets of money. Last year, our students earned over$10.3 million in scholarships on top of need-based. There's so much money.

5:18It's just where do we find it? That's the biggest question. And that's what I'm hoping I'll be able to share with you because there's a lot of money. And students and parents, if you're listening, think about it like a job. Business, college is a business, right? Somebody has to keep the lights on and there's tuition going back and forth. And so think of it like this. If I came to you as a business owner and I said, I really want to work for you. And you're like, great, where's your resume? And I'm like, oh yeah, I don't have one. You're going to say, well, I like you in minimum wage is a great place to start.

5:55But another student comes to you and says, Hey, I really want to work for you. And you're at, where's your resume. And it's three beautiful pages of their leadership and their experience. You're like, Oh my gosh, they could do my job. How much more money are you going to give them? It's as simple as that. You bring it, you get it. Yeah.

6:17Shellee Howard:And I love that. And I want to talk about that because what I thought you were, where I thought you were going with that Shelly is, we've told our kids, you treat getting scholarships like it's your job, because you're going to make more probably per hour. If you really do this the right way, then you would at a minimum wage job. And then you can get your college paid for, which is wonderful. So we know that you talk about, you know, going, your kids can go to college without debt. We talk about, we don't want you going into debt or your kids if you, you know, if it's at all avoidable to go to college.

6:48Shellee Howard:So what, what are the steps to make that happen when you're saying there's so much money out there? What do we do? What are we missing? Okay. So I think it's probably best to illustrate it and then I'll break it down. So my first born, he came home from middle school, eighth grade. Mom, I know exactly what I want to do, exactly where I want to go. Will you help me? It was a mommy moment. I'm like, of course I will, right? That's what we do. And I said, so where do you think you want to go and what do you want to do? He says, I want to be a brain surgeon and go to an Ivy thing. And I'm like, what?

7:22I said, what happened at school today? And he said, oh, the high school counselor came and said, we could do whatever we want and we need to make our schedule. And I'm like, oh, okay. And I said, why? I was tongue tied. I had no idea where this was coming. I was the first to go to college. And he says, mom, you've taught me that community service can change not only my life, but everybody else's life. So what if I did that for a living? Oh, it was like that perfect mom. Like, I'm the best mom. Oh, this is amazing, right? And then reality hit. I have no idea how I'm going to help him. And so this was 18 years ago.

8:02And I tell this story because it's the same story now, just at a different time. Fast forward, that young man is now 31. He's an orthopedic surgeon. Went to Harvard four years pre-med for free. went to UC San Diego Medical School for$30 ,000, and is now chief orthopedic surgeon at UCLA. He will graduate with$30 ,000. That's an ROI. I don't know about you listeners, but that's better than the stock market. So how did he do it? That's what everybody wants to know. Well, hold on. Go back. We accidentally cut you off. You said he was going to graduate with$30 ,000 yeah in the bank or as in in debt total so that's four years two years five years of education and he will owe thirty thousand dollars orthopedic surgeons in their first year make well over five hundred thousand so if you really work the numbers that's a good investment of time and energy.

9:06And so that's what I let families know first is it has to be the student uniquely. I have four kids, two boys, two girls. So I speak from a mother's heart, all of graduated debt-free because that was my mantra. And so the step one is figuring out what is your child's gifts, talents, and advocacy? Who are they and what matters to them? because if they're living their true genius and they're staying in their own lane and really working the plan to be a great adult, the plan will work out itself. So step one, ask your child, who are you? So simple. And if they say, well, I'm your son. Well, okay, that we need some work on that pitch because colleges want to know who is your child who are you and what are you going to do when you get to my school remember the business employee thing are you going to come and sit and take an education and leave or are you going to come and lead others to create change and win the Nobel Peace Prize and be the sorority president or the football captain or like what are you going to do?

10:25Because I'm going to pay you to come and make my school better. A lot of money because you're a valuable commodity to my school where most people are going into the mindset. They have a great foot. This is my second child. I want to go to university, Alabama. Why mom, roll tide.

10:44Shellee Howard:They got a great, obviously they got a great football team. I said, are you going to play football? She's like, really mom? That's not even funny. And I'm like, what is wrong with California. She goes, mom, they don't have the sororities that are four stories tall. Hers was a totally different thing than her older brother's. And she actually made me tell her that she does not have to go to Harvard because it looked way too stressful. So helping your child stay in their own lane and really focus on who they are, their gifts, their talents, their advocacy, and being the best version of them. If they don't know, community service is the best way to help them do that.

11:29So good. That's so good. So you're more, tell more, say more. Yeah. So here's our thing. It is my belief that if every 18 year old in the world did 200 service hours in something they loved, like they couldn't wait to do, our world would be a much different place to be. That is my theory. It's really good. And so when I lean into that and I tell teenagers this, you can't mess it up because they already don't have it. These teenagers are so worried about failing that they don't even want to try. So I tell them, Hey, they have nothing. You can't make it any worse. And they're like, Oh, and I'm like, so what do you want to do?

12:12Who do you want to help? How do you want to help them? We call them passion with purpose projects. And many students, if their families do not serve, they may not understand what real service is. They may think that you need to feed the homeless and they don't, they're scared of the homeless. That sounds terrible. So helping them get clear, what are you passionate about? What do you advocate for? What's that thing you're going to get up early on a Saturday morning and lead your besties to go get it done? That's where you figure out your genius, right? Oh, absolutely. I remember when I was a teacher and they wanted me to teach this careers class to my eighth grade students.

13:00And I was like, yeah, I'm not doing that. And it was really because they were getting paid. Like they would get funding if I taught this class. And I thought, no. I used to tell my students, go get 20 different jobs. And so this is like the community service version of that. Go get 20 different jobs in all these different areas and figure out what do you love to do? Who are you? What do you want? What do you get excited about? And then figure it out from there. But there is no amount of education that I believe is going to teach you hands-on real life experience of really knowing what you enjoy instead of doing the thing.

13:32So I think that this is fabulous. It's great. And also, hey, community service hours, scholarships, applications, like all of that is so great. Yeah, it's tied hand in hand. Yeah. And that's what I hope families understand is money is everywhere. It's knowing where to tap in. So there's a bucket of money called merit money, which means they want you money. That's the one with the awesome GPA, test scores, community service, leadership, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, essay, like you're bringing it, like you're working hard and you're bringing it. You deserve it, right? That's the merit bucket.

14:08Then the next bucket is the independent scholarship bucket. That's the one that you can apply to. Right now there's the Coca-Cola scholarship,$25 ,000 a year. My son won it and it cost him the time of an essay for$25 ,000 a year. That's an ROI. I didn't make him do the$50 and the$100 and the itty bitty ones because if there's no essay attached, there's no money attached. It is just a waste of everybody's time and energy and students do it because they can tell their parents, I applied to 25 applications today. Well, how many essays did you write? Well, none. That's just throwing your name into a bucket and then them just picking randomly.

15:00There's just nothing attached to it. It's usually a bait and switch parents where they take your information, they sell it to somebody else, and then your parents are bombarded with you need to refi your home or buy a new car. Right. So be very careful. I didn't know that. Be very careful. The second secret to that is have a separate junk email. You will get so spammed and make sure that the parent and the student is on it because the parent will check it and the student will not.

15:32Shellee Howard:Love them. Pro tip. Yeah. A good text to them. Like, Hey, you received an email. That's genius. Like I appreciate that. But to expect them, I had a student one year lose a$35 ,000 scholarship because they didn't check their email. They had 24 hours to accept it. Oh, yeah. The parent you think was a little upset. Sure. Just a tad. So that's in all of your lessons. You're like, I will never. And so that's the thing as simple as checking the email. The other thing, making the email your first name, your last name at gmail.com. Don't get funny with I'm a ballerina, tutu, foo-foo, fee-fee. No, no, no.

16:19It just tells them something they just don't need to know. So super simple. Add your parent. They are your like insurance policy. That's what I, not their, they don't need to get in your business. They are your insurance policy. So that's the second bucket. The third bucket is the need base. But here's not what you're thinking. You're thinking, I make too much money, but I don't make enough money. Okay. The FAFSA says if you make over$200 ,000, you are not need based. Okay. But here's the thing. You need to pull your student aid index. It's called an SAI. Okay. It is legally mandatory on every college website.

17:06Go to the financial aid section. Pick any school. It doesn't matter. Go to the financial aid section. Says student aid index. Calculate it here. You're going to put in three to six numbers and it's going to go poof. This is what school A believes you should be able to pay. And you're like, no. You have no idea. I have braces. I've got like, you know, soccer. No way. I can't do it. and then you get frustrated and that's where people stop. But here's the thing. This is the secret sauce. You can lower your student aid index. Okay. All you have to do, you have two options. You can read the FAFSA cover to cover like tax code, or you can call me and I will tell you.

17:53That's it. I mean, it's either one or free. So if you are curious how to lower it, what you, what you have, go to this for your listeners only. So no sharing it's college ready plan.info. Okay. No sharing. This is just for the listeners. And why is that important? Because it's not just your income. It's where your assets are held. If you have any money in your child's name, they assess it double. So remember that job you talked your child into getting and they're building this beautiful, right, this bank account. They're so proud of their savings. Now you can just turn it right over to the college because they're going to take it.

18:38So it's stuff you don't know. How discouraging for a teenager to work super, super hard and then poof, it's gone. So it's better to know how to play the strategic plan than it is to just throw up your hands and go, oh, we make too much money. Yeah. We have millionaires in our program and we have need-based in our program, everything in between, because it works for everybody. If you're an entrepreneur, you have a significantly greater chance of lowering your student aid index. Hopefully some of you are cheering. If you are one or two W-2s, it's a lot harder. So go get a side hustle and open up your world to tax code and tax deductions.

19:29But the beautiful thing is those are three buckets. All right, budget besties, it's time for some real talk. You don't need another budget. You need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that. Yeah. It's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck to paycheck feel.

20:09Shellee Howard:If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in. And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession. This is the upgrade to your finances that you need right now. Yeah. So head on over to budgetbestdc.com forward slash budget and grab yours. Now back to today's show. Here's really where it all comes down. Picking the right college list. If you allow your teenager to pick the list, they are going to apply to UC Santa Barbara. Why? Have you seen the dorm view? It is truly panoramic of the ocean. right? Alabama, somebody's looking for the biggest, best sorority program in the world.

20:54Heads up,$5 ,000 a semester. That was painful.

20:59Shellee Howard:Oh boy. Yeah. So just be thinking, right? Like they're 17. Would you allow them to buy their own car with your money? Oh, of course not. they're not ready they are not ready to make this big purchase and they need your help and your wisdom to guide them so what we do is we help build a college list that has reach schools comfort schools and safety schools that means the reach schools are the dream they're their dream for everybody two or three percent it's a dream for everybody now you can get closer to the dream by your, you know, making your resume beautiful. But if you get in, you have to have something special to get money.

21:47Okay. My son won the presidential scholarship at USC and Harvard matched it because they wanted a West Coast kid pre-med. That was it. That was his secret sauce. So again, you're thinking, how do I beat the system? You have your child beat them. and have them market themselves, right? If they're quiet and they're shy and they're like, well, I didn't really do much. They're not going to get in. But if they said, I led this group to oversee this, to earn this for this and this changed lives, of course, they're going to have a better opportunity. You starting to see where I go? Yeah, this is wonderful.

22:38Yeah,

22:39Shellee Howard:I think it's, it's what I really love is what you're doing is giving parents a way to think about how to bring that out of their kid, because not every kid is your first kid. Like you said, some of them are, take a little longer to figure out what they want to do. Some of it's not as a parent, but if you're giving them these, if you're giving them permission to chase after what's interesting, what's what they're called to right now, and that just continues to go and build and they get more clear on it, then they're naturally going to be able to build a resume because they're following after what they enjoy.

23:10Shellee Howard:And there's all kinds of ways to build a resume, as you're pointing out, which I love. And so that was kind of my question when you're talking about resume or CV or whatever, when you're sending this, when you're trying to build this, obviously there's no cookie cutter answer, but what are some ways to make your kids stand out or for your student to make themselves stand out? Is there, you know, is there something specific colleges are looking for? What would your advice be on that? Sure. And I'm going to just tell you what it is. No guessing. So on the Common App, there are 10 activities, honors, and awards they must list.

23:42On a University of California, there are 20. Okay? So if your mouth didn't drop, parents, your child's an overachiever. Okay? So here's the thing. If your student has a GPA, somebody's going to have higher or lower. If they have a test score, somebody's higher or lower. So now what? Your activities, honors, and awards. So how colleges look is they look at international, national, regional, local, and school. So if your child is doing a bunch of school clubs and another child's doing one international project, the international project's going to win all day long. Did any of your high school counselors tell you this?