Many Americans are worried about having to start paying their student loans again. For some, that might mean cutting back on expenses, such as finding a side job, eating out less, or not buying big name brands or food when shopping.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently warned: 1 in 5 student loan borrowers have risk factors That means they will suffer when repayments resume.
The concerns arose as part of the bipartisan agreement signed by President Joe Biden to raise the federal debt ceiling, which included a provision formally ending the suspension of student loan payments for more than three years. ing. That means about 45 million Americans have loans of $200,000 or more. $1.6 trilliona Supreme Court ruling on Biden’s amnesty plan is expected now, so repayments could begin as early as September.
“I can’t live on this and it’s going to be harder to pay for it,” said Richelle Brooks, an administrator at a charter high school in Los Angeles and mother of two teenage children. “I have already reached my limit,” she said.
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“Student loan debt exceeds income”
brooksA three-year principal at South LA’s Matrix for Success Academy, she said her passion for teaching others came at a great price. She took out about $203,000 in student loans for her undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies. Over $30,000 in interest added.
The suspension of payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a blessing for Brooks. And it gave her her sense of relief and hope, she said.
“I wish I could have paid a little more,” said Brooks. “But I don’t have extra money. Things are very expensive.”
Once the loan payments resumed, Brooks calculated that his monthly loan payments would be about $600, on top of about $4,500 in rent, car and auto insurance payments to start with. And she said her mother recently moved in with her because LA rents are high.
“Some things are inaccessible to ordinary working-class people,” Brooks said. “Wages are not going up, the cost of living is going up. There is no give and take.”
She said even having a “high paying job” that pays about $100,000 a year is still not enough when the loan is double your salary. Ms. Brooks added that she would likely be an Uber driver or a part-time education consultant, but she would not hesitate to get a second job.
“Student loan debt exceeds income,” Brooks said. “We’re trying to make more money. We’re always trying.”
For the past three years, Brooks has been politically active about his inability to pay his debts.she is a member of creditors, the National Union of workers from all backgrounds is lobbying lawmakers to end student loans, among other things. She travels to Washington, D.C. to speak for herself and others for her cause.
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Ian Roedwalt said he and his wife, Courtney, had $132,000 in student loan debt.
Instead of paying off their debt, the couple of Amherst, Massachusetts, used the suspension of payments to buy new home appliances such as refrigerators and ovens for their home, as well as a new car after their old car’s engine failed. Purchased.
“It was the reprieve I desperately needed,” said Roedwalt, 37. “It gave us the feeling of being on water and some breathing room.”
Although he hasn’t done the math yet, Lordwalt knows that paying off the loan will be a little more difficult.
“I’m scared and angry,” he said road walt, field organizer of the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation, a federation of over 60 public and private unions. “Education is a right and public education used to be free, or very close to free. not.”
Roedwalt’s coalition has passed a resolution calling on Biden to cancel all federal student loans by executive order. He held a rally in front of federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts with members with over $1.2 million in combined loan debt as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments over student loan debt in Washington, DC. cooperated with
he wrote Opinion article on him position Citing a 2020 study that said black women could improve racial, economic and gender equality issues by canceling student debt, Have more than 20% debt than their white women.
“Both my wife and I are white,” said Roedwalt. “But the bigger impact will be on communities of color in general and black communities in particular.”
Roedwalt says he is “extremely concerned” that his family will be financially constrained by repayment, but believes it will be the worst for others.
“The economic damage that these repayments will cause to entire communities and local economies is morally wrong, grossly unjust and politically dangerous,” he said.
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“We can’t afford to buy a new house.”
Beth Lawmaker, 30, of Hillsdale, New York, owes about $35,000 in student loans, while her boyfriend Spencer Crawford, 28, owes about $7,000. there is
They plan to buy a bigger house for themselves and their dog, get married, and maybe even have a family. But that could all be put on hold if you have to start paying off the loan.
“Spencer and I budgeted for the whole winter, but didn’t count our student loans,” Lomaker said. “Our biggest concern is that we won’t be able to afford a new house anymore.
“This is… life changing,” she concluded.
Lomaker said the couple are environmental activists and certainly don’t make a lot of money. She is an environmental remediation manager. Since he’s an ornithologist, a bird expert, he’s already cash-strapped, and he’s likely going to use the savings to pay off his loan.
But is that enough? She said she would definitely cut back on organic food shopping first and her hobby of growing her own food.
“It will take a long time to figure out where the money is coming from,” Lomaker said. “It remains to be seen what the plan will be. It certainly causes anxiety.”
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‘Many people are suffering’
Wen JuanThe 26-year-old from New Haven, Connecticut, has no doubts about going to art school for a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in American Studies.
But Qian, a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated from China and who has about $50,000 in student loan debt, wishes her education was cheaper.
“This is pretty daunting,” said Zaun, a labor organizing group for health workers in Hartford. “I’m still paying off the loan over the next 10-12 years and haven’t saved much. I’m really wondering if I’m in the right financial situation to buy a house. Maybe get married and have children?
“It’s a more ambitious goal,” Zaun said. “In hindsight, I think it’s 20/20.”
But Zaun said he knows millions more Americans are in tougher financial situations. She worries about them and their future. Her debt cancellation has now become this “unicorn political act,” she said, because “we debtors don’t ask for much.”
Zaun said he didn’t expect an 11-hour grace period, no matter how spectacular the debate was.
“Like 10 years ago, debt forgiveness was not even part of the big debate. “Let’s see how this all ends. I don’t think this is over. A lot of people are suffering.”
