Mounting student loan debt is a serious challenge for many Americans – and individuals in some areas of the country are having a harder time repaying that debt Opens a New Window. .
Outstanding student loan debt surpassed $1.5 trillion in 2018 – second only to mortgage debt – doubling over the past decade.
Student-loan delinquencies surged last year, hitting consecutive records of $166.3 billion in the third quarter and $166.4 billion in the fourth.
Bloomberg calculated the dollar amounts from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly household-debt report, which includes only the total owed and the percentage delinquent at least 90 days or in default.
That percentage has remained around 11 percent since mid-2012, but the total increased to a record $1.46 trillion by December 2018, and unpaid student debt also rose to the highest ever.
Amanda Lawson-Ross planned her career around a government loan forgiveness program. But after making payments for four years, it turns out she doesn't qualify.
Lawson-Ross was in graduate school at the University of Akron when she first heard about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Launched in 2007 under the George W. Bush administration, it promises loan forgiveness to people who work at non-profits or for the government once they've made 10 years' worth of payments.
Americans are diving deeper and deeper into the red.
As of this month, outstanding consumer debt exceeded $4 trillion for the first time, according to the Federal Reserve.
Relatively strong holiday spending, particularly in November, and increasing credit card debt added more than $41 billion in outstanding balances at the end of 2018, according to LendingTree, a loan comparison website, which analyzed the data from the Fed.
Want to go to college but wish you could avoid tuition? It's possible. Schools throughout the country offer free tuition to admitted students. But read the fine print. Students may have to hail from a certain state or region or come from a low-income background. Some schools require on-campus work or service after graduation.
Updated on Sept. 10, 2018: This list has been updated to reflect information for the 2018-2019 school year.
Amid a massive shortage of nurses, hospitals and other medical facilities are offering big hiring bonuses and other incentives to attract and retain talent.
Five-figure signing bonuses, free housing, college tuition for employees and their children.
Hospitals and other medical facilities are getting so desperate to recruit and retain nurses they're offering all sorts of pricey perks and incentives.
More student debtors are falling behind on their federal student loans, after three years of declines in late payments—and with no clear explanation, experts aren’t sure whether to take it as a sign of distress or a temporary blip.
If you have some extra cash at the end of the month and are carrying burdensome student loan debt, you might be considering paying down those loans early. But in some cases, it may be better to keep paying the loans according to your current payment schedule. Here are some examples of when it's smarter to put your money elsewhere.
HUG is NOT refinancing, consolidation, settlement or bankruptcy. It will not damage or freeze your credit. Our typical client will be debt-free in half the time or less, including mortgage, credit cards, student loans and other types of debt obligations, compared to their current schedule. Most clients will pay less than 3% interest over all.
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"There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt."
– P. T. Barnum
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
– Marie Curie
"Bankruptcy laws allow companies to smoothly reorganize, but not college graduates burdened by student loans."
– Robert Reich
“What I would like to do... once I take care of all my kids' student loans, is buy a red 1965 Mustang and fully restore it.”
– Mike Quigley
“This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt.”
– Earl Wilson
"If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going."
