Consumerist: When we talk about student loan debt it’s easy to picture a spry, young 20-something who is struggling to get out from under mountains of high-interest loans. But, as a new report points out, that’s not always the case, sometimes those who graduated even decades ago continue to struggle in paying back their student loans.
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Is this news really new, hasn’t student loan debt been a recognized issue for years? Are they just realizing now how badly people are being gouged in order to better their lives? After completing my MFA this year, I’ll have amassed nearly $200,000 in student loan debt. Some people would look at the number and ask me why I did that to myself. The answer is simple, I come from a poor middle class family in a rural area, I’m the first from my family to go to college, and my entire life we’ve lived paycheck to paycheck. I wanted to better myself and make my family proud, so went to college. Over the course of nine years I’ve barely made enough to eat, let alone pay bills…so student loans covered not the cost of my tuition, but also my living expenses. Could I have worked a part-time job to cover my interest, maybe? Would have I slept, eaten or had time to do my homework…it’s possible but probably not. And I’m not the only one. I’ve had to except that I’ll be paying loans for at least the next 30 years of my life, which means I could have my own children in college well before my own debt is paid, if I’m lucky. According to this study, I’ll still be paying my lenders until I’m collecting social security, or until I’m dead at this rate. Is there a solution? How long until enough is enough?
Student loan debt is most definitely something that I am accruing currently and will continue to for another few months. It is something that I just despise but sadly was a necessary evil (I guess) to complete my graduate degree. Debt is a very scary thing though especially student loans, because combined with taxes those two are the only two types of debt that can be taken from your paycheck with out your consent or knowledge. So it is something to mindful of.
I do feel it is very important for the student loan debtors to make sure they are living within their means and not to accumulate other debt. Saying this is easy but doing it is much harder. Just something we as debtors must be paying attention and try not to dig a deeper whole for ourselves.
Personally I do feel most debt can be eliminated but it just might take a LONG time and a TON TON of effort.
Well isn't this a jolly topic to think about on a Saturday morning? But as this is a topic that directly relates to me, it's interesting to see the numbers. It makes me want to work harder and to really get the most out of my college experience. I choose to get swamped in debt because I figured out what I really wanted to do with my life (well, so far) and went to a college that was at the top of that field, but still gave me other options to learn about other things or support me if I decide I have to switch my major. And for that, I get a big debt. But if I can graduate and do something that really interests be and I can get that job because of what I learned in college, I don't care how big the debt is or if I'll be paying it off forever. I'm doing what I love.
Every day, every week, every year, I always hear about student debt, and it’s getting ridiculous. I mean the fact that the older generation is still working on paying theirs off just confounds me. They should be able to retire and call it a day, they’ve put in their time and effort. I’m sure some of it has to do with what they do with their lives, but that also goes for our generation as well. I feel as though the older generation had a stronger work ethic than some of the younger generation today. I saw several times throughout my undergrad how some students, just blatantly did not want to do the work and expect a decent grade, thinking that they could be handed a degree just like that. I do feel it is important to pay off student loans and not postpone them, because in the long run it will hurt financially with the accrued interest over that long of a duration. It’s just unfortunate for those people who have to continue to work towards paying them off after so long.
Every time I start to think about student loan debt, a headache starts to form. I can already see the difficulty I will have once I graduate trying to pay them back and even then I still have no idea whether I will choose to get an MFA or not. having debt myself, I am not too surprised that there are a number of older Americans who have not yet been able to pay off their student loans. Like Evan said, I'm sure part of it has something to do with what they are doing in life but it is still unfortunate that the possibility for this to happen is high.
Shocker. Student loans are a problem. Except it's not shocking. It's actually down right tragic. We live in a society where college is an expectation. Job requirements at minimum these days need a some form of bachelors degree, even when it's not relevant to the job half the time. Remember when a high school diploma or an AA was appropriate? What's shocking now is that the pursuit of higher education is starting to die out. People aren't interested in acquiring any more debt, and who can blame them? I am in grad school because I wanted to take my education in my chosen career as far as I could possibly take it. I wanted to be the best professionally that I could be, and to me that meant investing in knowledge. Will potential bankruptcy make me regret that investment? I am not interested in finding a career or employment that has nothing to do with what I came to grad school for, but will the economy allow that? Who knows at this point in time. What we can do is hope for policy regarding aid for higher education or cost of attendance to become a presence in politics.
There are times when I feel as though articles try to pin the debt situation on this generation alone. It's clear to me that this is not the case, but I'm glad this article works to make it clear for others who may not believe that. I grew up in a family with debt - student loan debt, credit card debt, etc. And it was a lot - my parents couldn't always meet their minimums. There were times in my life where I remember having to unplug the phones at night so we wouldn't get calls from collectors at all hours. The bottom line is that debt can add up, and people can end up owing a lot to meet their monthly minimums. Now, having grown up in that situation, I hope to always have enough to get by, but knowing that I will be paying money for my education for nearly my entire life is not something to take lightly.
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