student loans

From the time your child, you’ve been told that if you want a better life, you need to go to college. Getting an education and the degree is the only way to be successful. But lately, for millions of people with student loan debt, that’s proving to be untrue. Taking out a student loan is an irreversible decision that is destroying lives.

Still, it seems like a worthwhile decision. When you graduate college, it’s a natural decision. Go to college, graduate, find a great job, and so on. No one hardly ever questions it. If you hope to own a home and be able to take care of your family, getting a degree will make that dream more plausible. But, that’s not today’s reality.

If you take on student loan debt to go to college, you’re more likely to have LESS money and more problems. These adult decisions about the rest of your life will probably get pushed back. You won’t be able to afford them. Yet, no one tells you this before you apply. It will even delay your ability to save for retirement.

How Student Loan Debt Affects a Person’s Life

The key to avoiding this problem is understanding how student loan debt will impact you. Don’t just assume going to college is the best bet. In today’s economy, going for a trade has a better return. It costs much less than going to a university and it’s almost guaranteed you’ll find a job after you leave. Not just any job, but a high-paying career.

You might not think this is true, as it goes against years of teachers and parents telling you college is the only way. But the Federal Reserve released data in 2016 that proves it. According to their info, millennials who had student loan debt had 75% LESS net worth than their counterparts who didn’t.

That’s right, the difference between millennials who had more money and had less depends on who had a student loan. Even looking at how much money they had in their bank accounts, those with student loans had much less money saved. They were, on average, delaying major life decisions, putting off getting married and buying a house.

To learn more about student loan debt and whether you qualify for forgiveness, call Financial Helpers today. We’ve helped thousands of people overcome their debt and gain financial freedom. We’d love to hear from you. You can reach us at:

Call Now 844-332-2079

The Crisis Takes Hold

Brian Karimzad, the co-founder of MagnifyMoney, spoke candidly about the snowball effect student loan debt has on graduates. He spoke with VICE about the Federal Reserve report.

“This is the first time we’ve seen an update in this federal data since the financial crisis. We wanted to get a sense of how net worth has changed for people with student loans and where they stand, and how this has evolved from a simmering problem to a crisis level for many graduates—particularly people who graduated into the recession, which was ten years ago.”

http://financialhelpers.com/student-loan-debt-can-sink-the-u-s-economy/

“What we saw was startling in terms of the absolute gap in net worth. But one thing that was kind of interesting for us is the difference in net worth—and this is constant dollars—for people [who are under 35] with and without student-loan debt, is that if you look back in 2004, it was around $70,000. Now it’s around $80,000,” he said.

“I would have expected it to maybe have doubled in that time, so it wasn’t as striking as I thought, which may be a function of the fact that the backgrounds of the people taking on student-loan debt were probably similar-enough situations. That said, it’s clearly going up.”

Savings at Risk

The goal of financial freedom is to allow a person to be able to save money. To have money in the bank to cover emergencies and to be able to save for retirement is key. No one knows what path their life will take. That includes how the economy will play out the next decade. Regardless of how things will turn, having a major debt can set you back.

If you’re paying the equivalent of a mortgage payment towards your student loan debt, life is going to be difficult for you. Right out of college, hardly anyone will be able to afford rent, insurance, gas, and their student loans. It’s why a lot of millennials are still living at home into their 30’s. They get made fun of, but they’re trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

Someone who doesn’t have student loan debt has about $40,000 saved for retirement on average. Those with debt have about half that at $21,000. To save enough money to make it through all your golden years, you need to start saving young. Waiting until you’re almost 40 isn’t going to cut it.

The student loan debt problem isn’t going anywhere. Right now, the government doesn’t seem to care about struggling Americans. That means you’re going to have to make hard decisions. Educate yourself about your options and call Financial Helpers today.

Student loan debt has reached an astounding $1.53 trillion through the second quarter of 2018. That’s a massive amount of debt, second only to mortgage debt. This number has tripled since 2004 and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Throw in a variety of economic struggles and volatility, and you have a problem on your hands.

The reality is, many Americans struggle from time to time. Income volatility happens to us all, which can make it extremely difficult to fulfill our obligations. It’s difficult to afford rent, insurance, and our student loan debt.

It was estimated that as many as 8.2 million of us get behind, owing as much as $83 billion to the IRS just in taxes. Add that to the trillions of dollars owed in other debts, people are fighting to keep up during a time when the economy constantly bounces from one extreme to the other.

There are numerous reasons why this happens. It can be anything, such as their life is completely out of control, to simply not having enough money to pay their debts. Life disruptions, such as a death, sickness, and divorce, happen to most of us.

Income and economic volatility make it difficult as well. If you don’t know what your income will be any given year, it makes it downright impossible to guess if you’ll be able to pay off your student loan debt. The economy can fall through the floor tomorrow and leave thousands of people without work.

To learn more about student loan debt, and how Financial Helpers can help you overcome it, call us today at:

Call Now 844-332-2079

Who Should Pay for Student Loan Debt?

“There has been a big shift in terms of who should bear the burden of the cost of education,” said Benjamin Keys, a Wharton real estate professor with a specialty in household finance and debt. “We know the stories of our parents, that they could earn enough working as a lifeguard in the summer to pay for a semester of college. The growth of tuition costs relative to teen wages — indeed, all wages — has veered sharply upwards.”

“We’ve come to a place where most students have to borrow in order to pay the cost of completing a bachelor’s degree,” said University of Pennsylvania professor Laura W. Perna, executive director of Penn’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.

Right now in the U.S., there are 44 million people who have some type of student loan debt. The average amount of debt students hold is $37,000. That can take them up to a decade or more to pay off. Due to this, it is forcing young people to put off making major life decisions. There’s a lot of evidence that student loan debt is doing just that.

http://financialhelpers.com/new-game-show-focuses-on-student-loan-debt-crisis/

Because student loan debt disrupts so many lives, students all over the country are asking the government to step in and help. While the person did decide to take on debt to go to school, it’s not their fault that the economy was crashing. Many also fell victim to predatory advertisements from for-profit schools.

“They are certainly starting off at a disadvantage relative to previous generations, and a lot of the scrutiny of millennials is really misplaced given the disadvantages they’ve had in terms of their costs of education and poor labor market upon entry,” Keys continued. “It’s hard to say that they won’t eventually catch up. It depends on the health of the labor market, and how stable the economy is.”

Pre-Recession Data

This crisis owes its existence to both the Great Recession and the increasing cost of a college education. Just a decade ago, student loan debt was way below auto loans, credit card debt, and more. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, it now surpasses all these forms of debt. The correlation between higher debt and lower homeownership can’t be understated.

The Federal Reserve has released data proving that as student loan debt increased, the number of people buying homes has steadily decreased.

“A $1,000 increase in student loan debt lowers the homeownership rate by about 1.5 percentage points for public four-year college-goers during their mid-20s, equivalent to an average delay of 2.5 months in attaining homeownership,” write Alvaro A. Mezza, Daniel R. Ringo, Shane M. Sherlund and Kamila Sommer in “Student Loans and Homeownership.”

This further proves that student loan debt will only destroy the economy the worse the problem gets. The government needs to step in and help as soon as possible.

Student loan debt is continuing to skyrocket past $1.5 trillion. Many of the 44 million Americans who have student loans are begging the government to step and help them. Many have so much debt it will take two decades to pay it off. Now, they might be getting their wish as a new bill is being proposed.

Senator Cory Gardner from Colorado has proposed the Student Loan Repayment Acceleration Act. This bill is designed to allow employers to make tax-free contributions towards their employee’s student loans. It wouldn’t just be student loans either. Retirement contributions, health insurance, and other benefits would also be on the bill.

“Student loan debt makes it harder and harder for graduates to get ahead,” Gardner said in a statement.

“I’m hopeful my legislation can make it easier to pay off loans by allowing employers to contribute to their employees’ student loans as many do for 401(k) plans. Every little bit helps, and this can be a model for further policies to deal with the growing problem of student loan debt.”

To learn more about student loans, and to see if you qualify for student loan forgiveness, give Financial Helpers a call at:

Call Now 844-332-2079

Allowing Employers to Help with Student Loans

The government has been debating about how to handle the student loan debt crisis. Several candidates and lawmakers believe the government should make college free. They run on that semi-successful platform. Others, like the Trump administration, are completely against that approach. In fact, they’ve attempted to wipe out student loan forgiveness altogether.

According to President Trump, it’s unfair to expect taxpayers to foot the bill. A person decides to go to college and take on student loans to pay for it, they should pay what they owe. Still, that hasn’t dampened the cries of many students looking for help. The cost of a college education is growing exponentially.

How this Plan Would Work

Senator Gardner is hoping that incentivizing employers to make contributions makes the most sense. Rather than taxing companies to death, give them a tax break to encourage them to contribute. The SLRAA would allow your company to give up to $10,000 per year towards existing student loans.

http://financialhelpers.com/new-game-show-focuses-on-student-loan-debt-crisis/

In a lot of ways, it will be like a 401(k) payment. Employers can choose to structure the program so the employer matches every payment their employee makes towards their loan. This isn’t dissimilar to what a lot of companies are already doing. According to CNBC, many employers are already helping their workers pay off student loans.

Earlier in 2018, Fidelity Investments introduced a new program called Student Debt Employer Contribution Program. More ideas like this will be put into action if this new law is enacted. It’s really the middle ground between students who want the government to pay their loans and the government who doesn’t want to.

Either way, the SLRAA will help cut debt from student loans significantly. If you want this proposal to pass into law, call your senators and ask them to support it. This is the only way to show the government how badly students need relief. So, if you have student debt, help may be on the way. Come back to Financial Helpers for more as it develops.

Game shows have been a major part of Americana for decades. Most of us can remember waking up to Bob Barker or watching Wheel of Fortune. Most of the prizes were always the same: cash, cars, and vacations to paradise. But now there’s a unique show coming to truTV with a prize guaranteed to make those with student loan debt pay attention.

The show, set to debut today, is called “Paid Off”. It’s been suggested that this is the classic game show you love, but with a Sallie Mae Twist. That’s right! If you win this game show, you will have all your student loan debt wiped away. In reality, it’s a sign of the times.

Currently, there are 44 million Americans who hold an estimated $1.5 trillion. That’s a lot of student loan debt! And if you’re one of those millions who struggle, you can become a contestant. Having your debt wiped away is a dream for many. Life is incredibly difficult for those under this burden. It doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

Unless you believe you have a chance at winning a game show, there are other ways to take care of your debt. Financial Helpers has been the bedrock of the student loan forgiveness community for a long time. We’ve helped thousands of people just like you determine if they qualify for loan forgiveness. To learn more, call us today at:

Call Now 844-332-2079

Student Loan Debt and “Paid Off”

Set to air tonight on truTV (check local listings), “Paid Off” is a once-in-a-lifetime TV show. It goes to show how many people are struggling with their student loan debt. If it wasn’t such a problem, then a show like this might not be worth the watch. But truTV execs wholeheartedly believe the show will resonate well with viewers.

“It speaks directly to our audience,” Goldman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This debt is holding people back. It’s keeping them from buying homes, getting married, having kids.”

“Paid Off” is slated for 16 episodes and it will be hosted by comedian Michael Torpey. Most of the contestants will be in the upper 20s to early 30s. Three contestants will compete against each other to have their student loan debt completely wiped away. Although, the show hasn’t specified how much debt they will actually wipe away.

http://financialhelpers.com/5-strategies-for-lessening-your-student-loan-burden/

Several contestants on the show have as much as $50,000 in student loan debt. According to the Federal Reserve, as many as 16 million students have $25,000 or more. This type of debt is forcing young adults to delay life decisions, such as buying a home, a car, or even marriage.

Short of winning on “Paid Off”, it doesn’t appear the student loan debt crisis is going away anytime soon. The government can’t seem to compromise on a good course of action. In the meantime, the amount of student loan debt continues to climb rapidly. Let’s hope “Paid Off” is a success and helps a lot of students.