No no and no. But I've never had debt like that. And for me, I don't know that I could make stealing $50,000, for example, right in my head. Because stealing is what you're doing at least to me.

This is probably going to make me seem really mean, but I'm so tired of hearing about the student loan crisis.  We don't have a student loan crisis.  We have a personal responsibility crisis.

I just looked it up - the average student loan debt is $29,000 with an average 10 year repayment term.  And that term can be extended.  The average rate is 3.9%.  That comes up to about $293 a month.  The average car loan is $25,714.  The average rate is 2.86% for a 5 year term (I find it sad that over 60% of loans are for a term over 5 years).  That comes up to about $461 a month. 

So what's my point?  We hear all kinds of moaning about paying for the college loan, but people don't even blink an eye when they go buy that new car on credit.  That payment seems to be ok - after all you get a shiny new tangible toy to play with.  Funny when you think that the car will be worth very little at the end, but your degree will still have value. 

I wonder if the high default rate on student loans is because Banks can't take your degree back.  I wonder if people would find a way to pay for the student loan if their degree was revoked if they default?

By the way Jeremy, I'm proud of you that you want to be responsible and pay your loans back.  And I'm proud of you that you have made the dent in them that you have already.  I don't find any fault about day dreaming about walking away - who doesn't occasionally fantasize about ditching their obligations?  But I think it shows how much you have matured that you are determined about fulfilling your obligations. 

I'll hop off my soapbox now!

This is probably going to make me seem really mean, but I'm so tired of hearing about the student loan crisis.  We don't have a student loan crisis.  We have a personal responsibility crisis.

 

 

Yes that's it in a nutshell. Being responsible for yourself. I work in customer service.. complaints.. Rare is the person who says, this is my fault.  

So yeah, lets bring back being responsible for what YOU have done. Ask for help but stop whining. 

Now .. I'll stop whining. 

Honoring your commitments is a big part of building character. Jeremy, you've done a great job by working to pay off your debt, even if it's taking a while.

Whenever somebody walks away from a debt, a creditor has to raise rates overall to cover the loss. That hurts the rest of us. Tim's right - it's stealing.

Too many students bought into the belief that the more you spend on education, the more you'll earn. I have a friend who got a law degree from the University of Houston. His brother got a law degree from Harvard. The guy who studied in Houston retired twenty years ago; his brother will have to work for ten more years. Then there's Jeremy's point about borrowing money for living expenses, rather than the education alone.

Kids in high school aren't taught practical skills like managing their finances, and nobody else teaches them, so they overcommit easily.

Wow, I did not think the average sums are so high in the US. I better shut up with my USD7000 equivalent in Europe. Very interesting topic, thank you for your insight!

The UK system is maybe fairer, especially for students who choose a very worthwhile but not traditionally well paid vocation like nursing. This was posted by Martin Lewis, a well regarded financial journalist:

"You only have to repay fees and living costs if you earn over £21,000. And, even then, it’s proportionate to earnings, so you simply repay 9pc of everything above £21,000. If you haven’t cleared what you owe within 30 years, the debt is wiped.

Those who don’t earn enough to repay aren’t welching on their debts, the system's designed that they shouldn’t be contributing to the cost of their education. What we have, is in money terms at least, is a no-win, no-fee higher education."

Honoring your commitments is a big part of building character. Jeremy, you've done a great job by working to pay off your debt, even if it's taking a while.

 

Whenever somebody walks away from a debt, a creditor has to raise rates overall to cover the loss. That hurts the rest of us. Tim's right - it's stealing.

 

Too many students bought into the belief that the more you spend on education, the more you'll earn. I have a friend who got a law degree from the University of Houston. His brother got a law degree from Harvard. The guy who studied in Houston retired twenty years ago; his brother will have to work for ten more years. Then there's Jeremy's point about borrowing money for living expenses, rather than the education alone.

 

Kids in high school aren't taught practical skills like managing their finances, and nobody else teaches them, so they overcommit easily.

I definitely went in pretty blind back in 2005. Again, if I had it to do all over again, my first two years of college would have been at a community college, but I desperately wanted the liberal arts college experience and living away from home.

It is what it is, though. At the same time, I would be a completely different person if I had taken that path, and I'm glad I did have the opportunities I had with higher education.