It is a shame that so many are financially illiterate and subject to what seems almost like predatory education loans:
I didn’t think about my loans much as an undergraduate. Yes, I’d taken out $100,000, but I assumed that with a stable career I would be able to manage my repayments. Nobody ever explained to me how interest accrues….
When I landed my first teaching job out of college at a public school district in New Hampshire, I thought my $29,000 annual salary was a huge win.
The easiest, fastest way to a higher salary was another degree — and with it, more debt. So I went to graduate school in 2015 and took out $35,000 more in loans.
And then made $10,000 more per year. She then had a traumatic brain injury and was unable to make payments during recovery.
Unfortunately, “I have no problem paying for the loans I took out, but I do have a problem with how interest compounds. My current debt is 20% interest, and that number just keeps growing.”
She was financially illiterate.
Note – I get TBI and its impact on her having had a 5″ skull fracture plus another 5 concussions, two of which broke bike helmets and other bones. Fundamentally, though, her issue is financial illiteracy. How did that happen and why does it apparently happen to so many?
Who is responsible for bailing out those who made foolish financial decisions?
Should colleges, universities and others that offer education loans require all applicants to pass a course in financial literacy first?
Another one with financial illiteracy: 10 years ago I signed a student-loan agreement without reading it, and now I’m afraid I’ll never own a home
Should all foolish decisions be bailed out? If education loans are bailed out, why not bale out small business loans that led to failed businesses? Others say all medical debt should be bailed out?
In a world where Medicare and Social Security are soon to be insolvent, where we need to spend $4.5 Trillion to upgrade our electrical system to remove carbon emissions, where the needs for spending are huge everywhere, and the Federal government has $35 Trillion in debt, how do we do all this? There isn’t enough money anywhere to meet all of these “demands”.
