The Daily Show: Student Debt in the U.S. Reaches an All-Time High

[Rhiannon12866]

Student debt reaches an all-time high in the U.S., prompting Democratic presidential candidates to vie for best debt relief policy ideas.

[smirkymonkey]

1. K&R

Funny segment! But very sick and scary at the same time. I am drowning in student debt, and while I am paying it, my expenses keep going up and my salary isn't. It just gets worse every year. Sometimes I just feel like I want to default and tell them to go eff themselves. Most of what I owe is interest, which is their profit.

I would be more than happy to pay off what I borrowed, but they nailed me in interest which was about $85k more than I borrowed from them. It's just insane.

Thanks for posting Rhiannon!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. For about three decades now I've been driven bat-shit crazy

by all of these reports of student debt. Most of that debt isn't necessary. Students need to think ahead about what they want to major in, what they want to accomplish, what kind of job they want at the end of college. That last is probably the most important of all.

I've long (as in the same three decades) been telling young people that it's just fine to major in what you want, but never forget that at the end you need to be able to earn a living.

Here are my rules. If you are a student, don't borrow money for day to day expenses. Your job should cover those. Don't get totally invested in thinking you absolutely must finish school/get your degree by some arbitrary deadline. Time will pass. It's more than okay if it takes longer for that degree than you'd originally hoped. Especially if taking longer means less money borrowed.

If you attend a community college and work full time, you should be more than able to cover the cost of your classes from your income. You also should be looking at certificate programs at your school. Most of them lead directly into well paying jobs.

So what if you want to major in 27th century French poetry? I'm sure that it's a fascinating field, but what jobs are out there for you once you have that degree? Instead, get a degree in something practical, that gets you a job. Read all the 17th century French poetry you want to on your own time. You will now be earning a living and engaging in a truly worthwhile intellectual pursuit.

See? It's not so hard, is it?