SUMMARY
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Brad Baldridge is one of the nation’s leading college financing experts. He teaches families the best ways to plan, save and pay for college so they can make their children’s college dreams come true without wiping out their own finances and retirements. For twenty years, Brad has shared his expertise and insights through his private practice and as a blogger and podcast host for his company, Taming the High Cost of College.

Today, Brad joins the show to discuss the difference between education and college, changes to FAFSA, and advice for those in both early and late stage college planning.

TAKEAWAYS
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00:55 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Brad Baldridge, who joins the show to talk about his career trajectory from a financial advisor to one who focused specifically on college
07:08 – The difference between Education and College
10:26 – Alternative options young people can consider aside from college 13:23 – Privilege and the value of a college degree
19:13 – Early stage and late stage college planning
25:01 – College visits and entrance exams
32:09 – Changes to FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
39:37 – What Brad offers in his courses on college planning
42:08 – One piece of advice for college planning
45:51 – The one question Brad would want to know the answer to and one thing Brad would like others to know about him
49:22 – Jonathan thanks Brad for joining the show and for the work he’s doing

QUOTES
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“Anytime someone says, ‘college for everyone,’ it drives me crazy. There’s a whole bunch of people who need an education. But education and college are not the same thing. You can get an education by being an apprentice, going through the military, or the School of Hard Knocks.” (08:25) (Brad)

“If you talk about the average student, if the professor said, ‘I’m canceling class next week,’ they would say, ‘Great!’ Not, ‘Wait a minute. I paid for those classes. I’m here to learn and now I’m getting less for my money. Am I gonna get a refund?’ It’s just a completely different mentality.” (16:41) (Brad)

“‘Do you qualify for need-based aid? I don’t know. Well, here’s how you figure that out.’ And once you have this answered, if the answer is, ‘no, need-based aid is not something you have to worry about’ then you don’t have to worry about it.” (40:10) (Brad)

“If education is important to you, then you better walk the walk and not just talk the talk.” (42:30) (Brad)

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY
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Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.
Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration it becomes destructive.
The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.
Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.
If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time that it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you.
Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy, but do NOT improve outcomes.

GUEST RESOURCES
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Taming the High Cost of College Website: https://tamingthehighcostofcollege.com/
Taming the High Cost of College Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamingTheHighCostOfCollege
Link to Brad’s Courses: https://tamingthehighcostofcollege.com/courses/
Brad’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbaldridge/
Contact Brad: (414) 885-5111
Books Mentioned:
Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions: https://www.amazon.com/Who-Gets-Why-College-Admissions/dp/1982116293/ref=asc_df_1982116293/

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES
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Monthly Coaching Membership: https://courses.mindful.money/mindful-money-membership
Jonathan’s Book – https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Money-Practices-Financial-Increasing/dp/1608684369
Website - https://mindful.money/
Jonathan DeYoe on LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/jonathandeyoe
Mindful Money on Twitter - https://twitter.com/MindfulMoney_Ed
Mindful Money on Facebook - http://facebook.com/MindfulMoneyPlan
Mindful Money on Instagram - http://instagram.com/mindfulmoneyplan
Mindful Money on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/MindfulMoney🎙️
Podcast Production by FullCast: https://fullcast.co/sn