| I paid off my student loans around 6 years after college because I: - Chose a degree that would lead to a profitable career ( Computer Science ) - Worked during the day and went to school at night, paying for my books and other expenses as I went through school. ( I was a manual QA worker at a tech company. ) - Lived below my means. Always took public transit, never owned a car, always had multiple roommates. - Avoided large purchases or expensive trips - threw a large part of my paycheck at the problem. I wanted to get ahead of that compound interest. I support student loan cancellation. Over a trillion in debt. SOMETHING needs to happen. I understand why it needs to happen. But as someone who "did the right thing", it stings to get left out in the cold on this one. And either way: Even people still IN debt paid a LOT of money towards our student loans. What happens to the money people have already paid off? There will still be a 10-year wealth gap for people around my age. I will be outbid for homes by people a decade younger than me. I delayed retirement contributions, home purchases, and having a family to pay off my student loans. |
I worked >10 years in the industry and am quite well-to-do, but I always take public transit and never owned a car. I never thought that was living below my means. Maybe it's different in US...