If you have student loan debt, you’re not alone. One in five Americans — or 45 million people — is saddled with thousands of dollars wasted on invested in education that they have yet to pay back. Most of those debtors owe less than $20,000, but a shocking seven percent owe over $100,000. (How’s the ROI on that diploma?)
As much as President Biden likes to blab about alleviating the back-breaking financial burdens of everyday people, he has yet to do anything to relieve the average borrower. At this rate, we’ll be as old as he is by the time we get down to a balance of $0. (Or, more realistically, we’ll die with outstanding debt. Take that, government!)
And before you start lecturing us on how irresponsible we are for not paying back what we owe, let us make our case. We have really good reasons for not paying off our loans yet. Today, we’re taking a look at six of them.
And now for some totally valid reasons (that are absolutely not your fault) why you haven’t paid off your student loan debt yet: insane housing prices, out-of-control inflation, ridiculous healthcare costs, outrageous childcare expenses, widespread pandemic layoffs, and a capitalist system set up so that lower- and middle-class people will never be free from the financial monkey on their backs, no matter how hard they work. Thanks, America!
student loan debt
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You’ve had to pay out-of-pocket for career counseling.
Yes, it’s been 10 years and you still have no clue what you want to do, but that’s OK. Your career counselor says you’re still “processing.”
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You bought that state-of-the-art electric bike.
It's for the good of the planet!
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Your haircut budget is huge.
Gotta look sharp on that
TinderLinkedIn profile! -
You’ve been eating out…a lot.
It’s for the Insta!
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You’ve been traveling the world.
You can say “Hello” in 10 different languages. Surely that will come in handy when you finally get a job…right?
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Your dog needs hydrotherapy.
Your best friend is aging and needs a little rehab. Have a heart!
