She left graduate school with $90,600 in debt in early 2020. This year, she put some of the money she would’ve spent on her student loans to help fund her wedding in front of 65 people.
“This loan freeze gave us all time to just breathe and catch up a little and maybe pursue some of these personal or financial goals we have,” she said. “Maybe if we were lucky, we could splurge a little on little luxuries.”
Heather Diehl of Virginia said the freeze made preparing for her first child easier, from buying a SUV that would better fit a car seat to saving for daycare.
“I wish our society didn’t force 18-year-olds into loads of debt just to be able to get a job,” said Diehl, who works in human resources and graduated with $90,000 in debt. “I hope the system isn’t as broken in 18 years when my son has to figure out what he wants to do.”
Imminent Restart
Critics of the forbearance extensions or cancellation plans argue that it would be unfair to people who already paid off their debt or that it could contribute to inflation. Concerns about the optics around forgiveness have complicated decisions from Biden, who’s looking to boost ratings ahead of midterm elections.
Anthony Portesy is dreading the return of the loan payments. The 35-year-old lawyer in Long Island, New York, was paying more than $700 a month toward his six-figure loan balance from law school before the pandemic.
He's since funneled that money into paying off his credit card debt, maxing out his Roth IRA and, most recently, buying his girlfriend an engagement ring and a romantic getaway. He’s planning to propose in San Francisco exactly three years after they met.
Still, his loans are constantly hanging over him.
"I’m worried that my future will be back to constantly budgeting to have the extras our parent’s generation had, like buying a house, family vacations and raising a family,” he said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.