Student debt is exploding, burdening some 40 million borrowers with an often crippling obligation that can take decades to pay off.
“The reality of student debt is honestly just now starting to sink in. We see the percentage of home ownership by the age of 30 dropping from 33 percent to 23 percent among individuals with student debt,” said Daniel Haitz of the college planning website eduSquared. “That’s a startling trend that has only occurred in the last 10 years. What’s crazier is that student debt in America grew at 7 percent last year and isn’t showing signs of stopping.”
From 2008 to 2014, student loan debt surged by 84 percent, according to a study by Experian. The $1.2 trillion in student debt now surpasses home equity loans and lines of credit, credit card and automotive debt.
“Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you.” J. Reuben Clark (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103)
For those considering financial aid, there are ways to tame student debt. Some of the best solutions are the most simple.