Posted on 09/16/2023 6:42:40 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
I'm often blamed for complaining about my student-loan debt.
But I was never taught financial literacy, and I built up debt as a kid based on misguided advice.
I was trained to believe the more expensive colleges were better.
After a three-year pause, my student-loan repayments are starting again, and I'll be paying $350 a month.
During the payment pause, I've finally been able to save up a chunk of money for a down payment on a house. It's been my goal to buy a condo and rent it out on Airbnb as an investment. But now I won't be able to afford that down payment because any extra money I have won't go toward my savings but instead toward my $35,000 in student-loan debt. I have to put my dreams on hold.
When I wrote about this recently, a lot of readers reached out with their thoughts. Most emails I received accused me of wanting a handout and blamed me for my debt. One person told me I shouldn't have taken out all that money in student loans for college if I didn't want to pay it back.
Even though I made a mistake when I took out my student loans, people should know it's more nuanced than that......
Unfortunately, I'm now stuck with a stupid decision I made as a kid.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
That's pretty much the story of life.
Strange way of thinking ...
Financial literacy?
I thought it was addition and subtraction.
You know, racist math.
Smart enough to save to buy a rental unit but not smart enough to realize he had a lot of student debt.
Bzzzzzt. Wrong Answer!
Another one wanting someone else to pay his way.
Maybe I missed it in his whine-fest, but I didn’t see anywhere exactly what it was that he majored in ... which, in my mind, would be a big indicator of how much money he would make after “graduation”.
Whaaaaa whaaaaaa cry me a river. You borrowed it. You pay it back.
It wasn’t my fault I bought an expensive car I was told Porsches were better
It isn’t my fault I spend $1800 a month on dining out no one taught me to cook
It isn’t my fault my credit card debt is maxed out no on told me that I had to pay it back
It isn’t my fault etc etc
My thoughts exactly.
Looks like someone lived a pampered life and was never expected to grow up.
Welcome to reality!
The economic numbers are going to tank in Q4. No matter what you think of the student debt stuff, making these guys start repaying is going to take $80b out of the economy every month.
I am NOT in favor of forgiving anything. These debtors should have been paying down the principle over the past three years. But they didn’t. Now the chickens are coming home.
But the result will be a massive sucking sound that will impact retail sales in a big way going into the Holiday season.
Get ready for a world class whine-fest. There are three entire classes of loan recipients who have never had to pay—now they do.
His complaint should, therefore, be directed toward whomever raised him. Those are the ones who should be saddled with his debt. Not John Q American.
“Even though I made a mistake when I took out my student loans, people should know it’s more nuanced than that......”
No. It’s not. It’s really simple. Tighten the belt and pay off your loan. Then try to stay out of debt best you can.
We the People are told to believe the greater the deficit spending the better. Time has come for a number of houses to get in order, starting with We the People.
If someone would give me $2 for every $1 I gave them, they’d be very busy.
You might be paying $350/month, but you probably are getting at least $700/month in added pay for being college educated.
That $350/month works out to be less than $3/hour for a 40-hour work week when adjusted for taxes.
My dad was a waist gunner in a B17 over Germany at the age this guy was cruising the bars in college. He wanted to go to college and become a journalist too. Worked on a Boston newspaper and took classes for a while at his own expense before entering the service. Came out, got married, and ended up working in a factory and supporting a wife and three kids who all went to college.
I went to college on student loans. Went to a state college because that’s what I could afford. Went a year and worked a year and worked while in school at part time jobs. One semester didn’t have enough money to buy books, so I borrowed them from the library to study for test. Took 6 years to finish. Got a real degree in the hard sciences. Paid all my loans off on my own before my wife and I started saving for our first house.
Sorry son I’m not feeling your pain.
Then it's a lifestyle choice and most certainly is your fault and nobody else's.
It's called *consequences*.
Learn to make better life choices.
Kids going to college is blamed on things like what you write about. And I guess that is true. But let’s not dismiss the original reason a lot of middle class white kids thought college was a good idea: Draft deferrals.
In the sixties kids were told they could get a deferment from the Vietnam draft by going to college. Dropping out meant the draft board was notified.
That led to these kids then realizing that college grads made more. Then it became a generational thing.
Back in 2008/09 when Obama took over the student loan process many people around here were making noise that this was not going to end well.
In the end the deflation of the government subsidized college racket has caught up to the students.
It sucks for the kids now…but that is what happens when people forget history.
Well said.
I paid my 8000 dollar loan back. Circa 1985 money about 20000 in today’s money. I knew I would have a high paying job immediately upon graduation as a pharmacist.
I chose wisely. He chose poorly.
If you finish the article...you never find out what his line of study was. We can be assured that it was some sort of “studies” since the $350/MONTH payment is going to be some sort of financial hardship.
He he majored in something meaningful like engineering or a hard science like physics or math, he would have a remunerative job where $350/month is not a major hardship.
Further, he says he was able to “save up” for a down payment on a house that he wants to use as an investment vehicle.
He needs to take that money, pay off his debt, and plan a different trajectory for his life.
Someone who can make a living on a single college degree majored in engineering, accounting or something with real world application, therefore they live and work in the real world.
Pay your loan, moron.
Gee, he doesn’t even want to buy a condo to live in, he wants a condo so he can rent it out and become a landlord! It’s just terrible that his educational choices are preventing him from achieving his dreams.
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