In the years following the national economic recession, credit card debt has run rampant. While the country is taking great strides to recover from the collapse, debt still remains a major setback for young Americans. So much so that in 2010, the total credit card debt held by this population was surpassed by something few ever expected: student loan debt.
This paradigm is further inflamed by the fact that tuition costs continue to rise even as government aid diminishes. In early July, Congress failed to impede an interest rate hike for Federal Stafford Loans that would double the interest rates from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on undergraduate loans. What’s the future look like for the next generation of grads?
In collaboration with the debt experts at Consolidated Credit.org, we’ve created a timeline depicting tuition and student loan debt, as early as the golden years of the GI Bill. Take a look at the numbers but be forewarned that the facts may be hard to swallow.
My sons will both graduate university with about $40,000 in debt. They both work while in school and they will still have massive amounts of debt.
I did not save for them when they were little because I was married and their father was a big spender. There was never any money for savings. Their father chose to help them very little after our divorce.
I started saving shortly after I was separated but a single, lower income mom does not have a lot to put aside and I have debt because of them as well. They have had to rely on loans and I have no idea how they will pay it all off.
They will be in debt for a very long time.
Man, reading those numbers gives me the chills thinking of what we’ll be spending for our three.
My asthma doctor told me about when he went to med school and his wife was able to pay his tuition essentially working a “regular” job. Then she went to med school when he was done, so essentially no loans. He’s in his 60s now and he can’t believe how much it’s changed, especially for med school. You are talking $300k+ in tuition if you want to be a specialist, and that’s not factoring in regular life expenditures.
Wow, I’m glad I live in a country where education is subsidized, though that has a whole host of its own problems.
Wow these numbers are depressing… I’m so glad I was able to pay off my debt within a couple of years.