Drowning In Debt

Graduates today are finding themselves being quickly swallowed by a new financial pandemic called student debt. With the rising cost of higher education and the poor economic landscape, the number of parents capable of covering student’s college tuition are lessening. As a result, students are increasingly finding themselves in dire need of more capital.

The story of Nick Keith, a graduate who is drowning in student debt is extreme.

A Business Insider article reported Keith took out a private student loan of $60,000 to attend a culinary school only to find himself making $10 an hour after graduation. It took Keith three months to save enough money to pay his first student loan payment of $1,300. Since then, Keith’s balance has nearly tripled and his loaners have maintained a 19 percent variable interest rate and monthly payments of more than $1,000 per month despite his lack of adequate work. Thankfully he was able to get some help from Sambla and lower the interest rate through their refinansiering program.

Keith said there is no hope for him to achieve the American Dream and he will never be able to own a home nor save for retirement.

Keith was left with $4 in his checking account and spends his free time collecting cans and bottles around town to sell. Though all borrowers may not share Keith’s story, it is not out of the realm of possibility.

Each of the 40 million Americans living with student debt suffer in their own way, whether it is by not having that big wedding, new house, or postponing starting a family.

A survey put out by Citigroup found that four out of five college students are working part-time jobs while pursuing their degrees. Working an average of nineteen hours a week at minimum wage isn’t enough to cover the cost of the average public college tuition of $23,410 in the 2014-2015 academic year. As a result, students are increasingly taking to alternate means of paying for education. For millions of American students, this alternate means of revenue has been in the form of student loans.

Taking out a loan to pay for school is not a bad investment if you understand the terms you are agreeing to, but the reality is most eighteen year olds applying for a loan don’t understand how interest rates work or even how long they’ll be in debt. As a result, 40 million Americans are struggling with student loan debt today. The numbers are staggering: according to the Huffington Post there are more than $1.3 trillion outstanding in student loan debt with an average borrower’s balance of $30,000.

It’s difficult to fully comprehend the severity of the crisis faced today and it’s easy to read the number 40 million without thinking twice. But the reality is, each one of those students has their own story, their own hardships and have become stuck in a debilitating atmosphere of slavery to student debt.

Here are a few tips to avoid debt from exorbitant loans:

• Don’t borrow more than what you need.
• Consider working part-time while in school.
• Stick to federal student loans and avoid private loans with higher interest rates.
• Make interest payments while in school.

Whatever you do, don’t major in debt.