The importance of an education cannot be stressed enough. Whether it is formal college education, trade school, hands on learning, or self-taught methods, the value of knowledge is priceless. Because education is so important it is often quite expensive. This higher level learning cost can create a disparity for a large portion of the population, leaving many unable to finance the education expense or only doing so by accruing tremendous amounts of education finance debt.

When thinking about education finance it is easy to get stuck in a one dimensional thought process about affording tuition at a traditional college or university. Usually this comes along with stress over the responsibility of incurring thousands of dollars in student loans. When it comes to education finance though there is more to think about than just college. Education does not begin when a person decides whether or not to seek a degree from a college. Some type of formal education begins for most in childhood. Pre-school and Running Start are very early forms of education that children can go to around the age of four. Depending on the parents' financial situation some may not be able to afford education costs, even when the children are small, many years from the stress of college education finance. While it used to be free for children to attend preschool classes, it now costs money. Fortunately, it is mandatory that a child attends school (in the United States), which means that the government offers public school for the masses. There are many parents who choose private schools for their children. This is often quite expensive. Public schools are free of charge for the attending students whereas private schools garner large tuition amounts. Whether education finance plays a role or not is unknown, but there is a rise in the number of parents who are home schooling their children.

After high school there is the question of financing continuing education. Finance ability can affect whether people are able to attend certain types of schooling, whether it is traditional college, random classes, hands on learning, work study programs, certification programs, and many others. The ability to pay typically dictates what type of education someone can get as well as how much money is spent. There are multiple ways to finance an education and student financial aid is a wide net for some. This ranges from outright paying for it from savings or cash, personal loans, college loans through the government, scholarships, grants, and work study programs.

Education finance as a topic is quite large and consuming. Many people simply think about whether they can afford private education for their children or whether or not education will go beyond high school into college. Thinking of education finance in a broader sense allows the multiple issues of education to be brought up. These include teacher salaries, taxes, levies and bonds, education reform, and much more. Education finance is an issue that almost everyone faces at some time, whether by indecision or inability to pay for education, as well as by those who borrow money or finance their education experience.