Student loan debt has become an epidemic that plagues 70% of graduates, with an average burden of $40,000 per student. In the US alone, student debt has ballooned to $1.4 trillion dollars and has doubled since 2008, eclipsing the total outstanding debt of credit cards and car payments. Over the last 30 years, while household income has increased 20%, student loan debt has increased by 250%!
While these statistics on their own are scary, what is more terrifying is the crushing impact this has on the economy and students’ futures. On average, student debt is causing graduates to delay homeownership for 5 years, reduce retirement savings by approximately $500,000, postpone marriage and children, and put-off well deserved vacations and other life events. Perhaps most frightening of all is that 3,000 graduates are defaulting on their student loan payments every day and more than 10% are delinquent 90 days on their payments. As students enter the 2017-2018 year, borrowers will see the interest on their loans jump an additional 0.75%, increasing the cost of carrying debt further for future graduates.
Think this is just a millennial problem? Think again. Over 15% of graduates continue to make student loan payments after 50 and student debt has quadrupled in the last 10 years among soon to be retirees over 60 years old. It is clear that student debt is affecting all of us in a negative way.
Our personal student debt experiences and the problem outlined above provided our motivation to start a company to tackle this epidemic. Our names are Ross Hornish and Dan Mendelson and our company is called BYE Student Debt LLC. Together we have written a book and created an interactive website designed to help graduates eliminate their student loan problems. Our hope is to provide personalized education so graduates can most efficiently payoff their loans and gain financial freedom, no matter what their situation. We look forward to sharing this product and hearing all of your experiences.
Sincerely,
Dan & Ross