They Don’t Know What They’re Signing: The Student Debt Trap

December 17, 2025

00:00 39:26

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“They Don’t Know What They’re Signing”: The Student Debt Trap

In this episode of The Real Deal with Abby and Regan meets real life decisions: college, trades, and calling. Abby and Regan talk about why so many teens are pushed into student debt before they even understand what they’re signing, why we’re “no student loans” moms, and how to help your kids find a path that fits their God-given gifts—whether that’s college, trade school, military, or beyond.

Plus: the importance of choosing a campus that aligns with your family’s values, spiritual formation, and the launch-year reality every mom feels.

In this episode:

The student loan trap (and why teens can’t grasp the burden yet)
College vs. trades vs. military: helping kids find their lane
Paying for college with scholarships + realistic planning
Why values + formation matter as much as a degree
“Equally yoked” and the long game of faith + family

Want to collab with Abby & Regan and reach 707,000+ parents?

https://www.reganlong.com/new-page-3

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Meet Your Hosts

Abby Johnson worked for Planned Parenthood for eight years, working her way up through the ranks to become the clinic director in Bryan, Texas. She was Planned Parenthood's Employee of the Year in 2008 but she walked away from her job after witnessing the abortion of a 13-week-old fetus during an ultrasound-guided abortion. She left Planned Parenthood and instantly became a national news headline for her defection, which led to a pro-life speaking career.

In 2012, she founded And Then There Were None, the only ministry in the nation that helps abortion workers leave their jobs and find new ones out of the industry. To date, she has helped over 600 abortion workers quit. She also founded ProLove Ministries and LoveLine in the fall of 2019.

Her bestselling book, Unplanned, was made into a feature film that debuted in theaters nationwide in March 2019 under the same name and she is the host of the podcast Politely Rude.

She and her husband, Doug, have eight children.

Regan Long is a best-selling author, household blogger, public speaker, and founder of the #1 Christian conservative parenting platform, The Real Deal of Parenting. She has developed a huge following over the years with her writing, touching millions of readers around the world.

Regan has found such inspiration navigating through motherhood, capturing empowering moments that she has experienced that are shared and read by millions across the globe.

Regan’s content in 2022 alone has had over 11 million minutes viewed and has been featured on Inside Edition, Today Parents, Yahoo, CNN, NBC, CBS, USA Today, Fox News, GMA ABC, HuffPost, HLN, Parents and more.