A Note from John Honeycutt,
Creator of the College Contract:

Hello.

In the US, our collective definition of an “adult” differs from beliefs of a hundred years ago. Recent decades have perhaps unintentionally encouraged legal adults to remain adolescent in many ways—remaining financially dependent on their parents even after receiving a four-year college degree. I’d like to contribute to reversing the trend by making my College Contract template accessible to everyone.

Thank you for visiting this site. Here, I will describe a little about myself - but mostly, this site and its material is about you and your emerging adult children.

My teenagers are 16 and 19. I love them deeply and hope great things for both of them. I'm sure you feel the same about yours. For a while I was a single parent. Laundry, errands, dishes, special events, discipline, and other aspects of daily living can wear you down. I'm fortunate to be married to a wonderful women now - but even with a great spouse, getting children grown is not always easy.

You and your children probably have a particular way of doing things and getting through things. The College Contract won't be helpful to everyone. But, based on initial reaction from dozens of people I have shared this idea with, I think many of us can benefit from taking the time to draft up a College Contract.

This Benefits You and Your Soon-To-Be College Student with Decision Making and Their College Budget

The College Contract puts accountability on your child's shoulders. This accountability will help greatly to develop their college student decision making mentality. My opinion is there is a lot of "entitlement mentality" in today's culture of affluence. Many young adults would benefit from being more accountable for their decision-making.

With financial support comes accountability. The College Contract spells this out clearly - before a bunch of hiccups and mistakes happen.

Manage Money and Communicate Better with a Parent Child Contract

Initially, some college students will not like the College Contract. However, I believe with time, they will realize the parent child contract is a valuable resource making them a more responsible adult in the long run. My daughter was excited at first - and then didn't like it much when the boundaries kicked-in. But, I'm very proud of how she has accelerated through some the struggles. I think she's proud of herself too.

Of course, it's more fun to be entitled and not accountable. But your child will be more likely to graduate on-time, with less debt than others, and with the confidence and abilities to be truly independent.

Let's face it - making a budget is boring. Sticking to a budget is hard. But there are other things too. What about mistakes like getting a speeding ticket? Are there any house rules you expect to be followed by your adult child when he visits - or if he remains living at home? The College Contract helps the two of you talk through a range of subjects. You won't agree on everything. But, talking through them and outlining them in a parent child contract will make things go smoother in the long run.

What makes me qualified to write the book and make these suggestions to you ??? I'm not certain there's a convincing story. What I can say is I've applied my 20+ years experience as a management consultant and professional into this concept. And, I've drawn from the practical wisdom of being both a single dad and a married dad. I am a frequent speaker on issues dealing with the aging workforce, and recruiting and retaining Generation-Y employees.

But more than anything else - I care. I care about getting our next generation of adults on the right path earlier. I care about helping our next generation learn to manage money better. I care about good people making better decisions more often.

In a sentence, I think this College Contract makes sense. I want to share it with you. And I wish you and your child all the best.

If you have a moment, I'd appreciate you signing my guest book - and let me hear what you think.

Sincerely,

PS. Visit my other web site xBig6.com.