“Going to college was the biggest mistake of my life!"

So says Hernan Castillo, 30, who owes $30,000 in student loans and $5,200 in credit card debt. (He has an accounting degree but can't find a job in that field, so he works in a warehouse in California.)

“Sometimes,” he says, “I wish I had gone to prison instead of college. At least I would have learned a trade or two and started being independent once I got out."

How things have changed since I entered the University of Minnesota in 1946! What ever happened to working your way through college? What ever happened to low tuition? What ever happened to paying cash or doing without? What ever happened to common sense?

In 1949, about to enter my senior year, I decided that, for personal reasons, I would not, after all, be able to spend the rest of my life working for the U.S. U.S. Forest Service. Common sense dictated that there was therefore no reason to pursue a degree. I dropped out—one of the better decisions I’ve made over a long lifetime.

Note to parents:

Your son or daughter may be better off in a trade school or a two-year tech school. But even if you believe they must borrow money and must get a degree, take out a $17 insurance policy. Order, read, and study (with your kids) SKIP COLLEGE: Go Into Business for Yourself.

1. On or before next Monday, May 25, 2009, order
SKIP COLLEGE.

2. Read and discuss it with your teens.

3. If you do not think it may change the lives of your children, send me an e-mail not later than June 25, 2009. Tell me what part you didn’t like.

4. I will then not only return your money but will send you a free e-report as well — either Crash-Proof or Least-Worst.

To paraphrase Hernan Castillo: “Not reading SKIP COLLEGE might be the biggest mistake of your life!”