The word budget was the last thing on Julian’s mind until this year.

“We lived with my mother,” he explained. “I have a job here in New York, but it’s very expensive to live in this area.” And it’s especially challenging when you have three growing boys! The decision to share housing expenses with his mother allowed Julian’s wife, Nicole, to stay home with their sons.

But everything changed at the beginning of the year.

“Something unexpected happened,” Julian said. “We lost my mother to a tragic accident. It was horrible for all of us. It was such a big hit.”

We all agree that education is important, but student loan debt in the United States recently topped $1.4 trillion. Yes, you read that right. Not million. Not billion. Trillion. That’s enough zeros to make your head spin!

And the worst part is that most students (and their parents) don’t know what they’re really getting into when they sign on the dotted line. We asked EveryDollar budgeters to share what they wish they had known about student loans before agreeing to take them on. Here’s what they said:

When Joanna made the trip from New Zealand to Colorado, she didn’t expect to make the United States her home. “I came over to stay with a lady on a ranch who needed someone to help train horses,” she explained. It sounded like fun, so she hopped on a plane and came over.

Less than a week after she arrived, she met Mark, the man who would soon become her husband.

Valerie and Gary were the typical American couple.

“We had credit cards, car loans and orthodontic loans,” Valerie said. “We made the mistake of refinancing the house and rolling our credit card debt in there. We swore we would never use those cards again. But we did. And then we took out a second mortgage.”

Some people hear the word budget and cringe! They think a budget is something that holds you back and keeps you from living the life you want.

Not these EveryDollar budgeters.

When they hear the word budget . . . their eyes light up. They see opportunities everywhere. They have permission to spend, save and give to their heart’s desire. The world is their oyster!

But hey, don’t take our word for it. Check out what these EveryDollar budgeters are doing because their budget said they could.