Y’all ever seen someone pull out a pack of gum, and people swarm like vultures asking for a piece? Maybe you’ve even fallen in line waiting to ask for gum too?
But once they got to you, they said, “there’s no more left.”
While you’re happy everyone else will have fresh breath, you do feel a little left out and let down, like how I and many other borrowers felt last week when Biden announced canceling student loan debt for 804,000 borrowers. As glad as I am for thousands who no longer have student loan debt, I am a little sad that the rest of us still have an overwhelming amount of debt we must contend with. Read more about his latest $39 billion in debt cancellation.
We all deserve student loan debt forgiveness as much as we deserve a piece of gum lol.
Stick around as we dive into how the rest of the world handles their student loan debt crisis.
Americans owes more than $1.78 trillion in student loan debt, which is among the largest types of debt in the country, crippling the financial futures of millions of people.
This week my colleague Christopher Harress reported on how American student loan debt is drowning us all and what this debt looks like around the world. Let’s just say that free tuition is possible and other countries have the blueprint.
Here’s how the rest of the world compares:
Scotland
In Scotland, tuition is free, and most students of a certain age and economic circumstances will receive a bursary for living costs. When the student does start repaying, 9% is taken from the person’s salary after they pass an earning threshold.
Tuition: $0
Average student debt: $20,000 (living costs)
Average Monthly repayment: $55
Debt cleared: after 30 years
Sweden
Sweden doesn’t charge its citizens tuition, nor does it charge other European Union, Nordic, or Swiss citizens either. Any debt accrued is typically from living expenses.
Tuition: $0
Average student debt: $15,000
Average monthly payment: $124 a month for new graduates on average
Debt cleared: After turning 68
Australia
Australian borrowers are struggling, too, but not like us. They can take out loans for tuition but not living expenses. After graduation, repayments start when their salary exceeds $32,285. The repayment plan is good and begins with 1% of the salary over a certain threshold and then rises with the salary, topping out at about 10%.
Tuition: $10,429 to $22,937 per year
Average student debt: $16,189
Average monthly payment: $26 on the lowest income level but usually much higher.
Debt cleared: Never
France
French students enjoy a state-funded higher education system like much of the European Union. Most students pay a small amount per year, but despite the low tuition cost, there is lots of help for students who still don’t have the money for college.
Tuition: $396 to $3,932 per year
Average student debt: N/A
Average monthly payment: N/A
Debt cleared: N/A
New Zealand
New Zealanders have a system like that of the U.S. About 70% borrow money to attend college and pay 12% of every dollar earned once their income hits just over $14,000. There is no interest rate on the loan if you stay in the country.
Tuition: $4949
Average student debt: $14,791
Average monthly payment: $168 for the lowest income level.
Debt cleared: When you die!
I ain’t got it.
When student loan debt payments resume, for a lot of people it will mean their lives are turned upside down and inside out.
Understanding the weight of this debt, Reckon asked readers like you who are worried about their finances, future, family and more to tell us what debt relief would mean for them. Each week, we’ll share a story that provides a glimpse into a borrower’s life.
Name: NM (they asked to be identified by their initials)
Student loan debt: $30,000
Location: Alabama
Age: 35
If debt payments resume: Everything will be squeezed. The hope of owning a home will become unrealistic. My life will shrink to only working to pay bills. There will be no room for fun experiences. My mental health will suffer because I will have to give up therapy. I’m currently in physical therapy for a recurring issue, and I will have to stop that as well.
“I am a first-generation college graduate. I sacrificed everything to achieve what I was promised was the antidote to the poverty I was raised in. Despite my best efforts, I am now looking at the same future of scarcity and money worries that I was trying to overcome.”
Do you have a student loan debt story you want to share with Reckon? Your story is just as important as NM and you can share it with us too. Send me an email at awray@reckonmedia.com or take a few minutes to fill out this Google form.
