47% of Graduates Say Student Loan Debt Affects Mental Health
- UpdatedSep 24, 2024
- nearly half of college graduates say student loans impact their mental health.
- Government-backed student loans cannot normally be discharged.
- Refinancing, grants, employer assistance or debt relief for other accounts can provide breathing room.
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From a young age, we’re taught to work hard in school so that we can go to college and succeed in our professional lives. However, what we’re not often taught is just how expensive college can be. After graduation, many of us are stuck with an overwhelming amount of student loan debt.
Student loan debt can make it difficult for you to accomplish important milestones like buying a house or retiring; but student loans don’t just get in the way of your financial wellbeing. There’s also a legitimate concern about the detrimental relationship between student loans and mental health.
In a recent Freedom Debt Relief survey, we asked over 1,500 Americans to tell us how student loans have affected their health and emotional well-being. Here’s what they said:
With the national student loan debt in the U.S. reaching $1.6 trillion in 2020, it’s no wonder student loan debt is a huge source of stress for college graduates. In fact, most college graduates agree that their student loans are more stressful than any other kind of debt they owe.
And when you’re up against so much student loan debt, it’s easy to feel defeated. Thirty-one percent of graduates surveyed believe that they won’t be able to pay back their student loans in their lifetime. This could be why so many of the people we surveyed stated that their student loan debt is affecting aspects of their personal lives—including their mental and physical health, personal relationships, and even their ability to sleep at night.
Although the responsibility of repaying your student loans may be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to take over your health and well-being. Fortunately, there are ways you can reduce student loan stress and enjoy a higher quality of life. Here are some tips to help you alleviate student loan stress.
Understand your student loans
Ignoring your debt situation won’t do much to help your student loans and mental health situation. Rather than just making your monthly minimum payments and going on with your life, take the time to thoroughly understand your student loans.
Find all of your loans, get to know your payment options, and become familiar with the details of each loan. If you have any questions, reach out to your lender or a financial professional. By understanding how much you owe, you can put your student loan debt in perspective and figure out a plan to pay it off faster.
Sign up for automatic payments
The easiest way to ensure you never miss a student loan payment is to sign up for automatic payments. Automatic payments can help you stay on top of your student loans while saving on late fees. Since some lenders offer discounts for those who enroll in automatic payments, you might even be able to save money. Lastly, automatic payments could help reduce your stress since you won’t have to worry about whether or not you made your payments on time.
Seek employer assistance
Since many of their employees are struggling with student loans, some businesses offer repayment assistance. Your employer may match a certain amount of money in student loan payments if you’re a full-time employee. It’s worth consulting your manager or human resources department to find out if this is an option.
Consider student loan refinancing
When you refinance your student loans, a lender takes your loan or loans and combines them into one loan with a new rate and repayment schedule. By refinancing your student loans, you may be able to land a lower monthly payment, which will free up cash for other expenses.
When you have more money to put towards your living expenses, retirement, vacations, and other things that are important to you, you’ll feel less stressed about your student loans. Your monthly paychecks could then go towards other things you care about.
Tackle your other debt
If you have other debt like a car loan or credit card debt, focus on paying it off. Tackling this other debt may seem stressful at first, and it might require you to cut your expenses or take on a side job. But once your other debt is paid off, you’ll free up money that can be put towards your student loans. This can help reduce your stress in the long run because you’ll be able to pay off your student loans faster.
Although student loans can negatively affect your health, following these tips can help ease some of the financial and emotional burden they cause. With hard work, optimism, and persistence, you can achieve your dream of becoming student loan debt free.
Try our guide to help you manage your debt
There’s no doubt that the connection between student loans and mental health is a strong one. Thankfully, learning how to deal with debt, money, and planning for your future doesn’t need to be hard and could help with stress management. We’ve developed a simple to follow guide to help you find the tools you need to move to a better financial future. Get started by downloading our free guide right now.
Learn More
What Will It Take to Solve the Student Loan Crisis? (Harvard Business Review)
Student Debt Is Hurting Our Wallets and Our Health (Boston University)
The Financial Tactics This Woman Used to Pay Off $150,000 in Six Years (NBC News)
Debt relief by the numbers
We looked at a sample of data from Freedom Debt Relief of people seeking debt relief during August 2024. This data reveals the diversity of individuals seeking help and provides insights into some of their key characteristics.
Credit utilization and debt relief
How are people using their credit before seeking help? Credit utilization measures how much of a credit line is being used. For example, if you have a credit line of $10,000 and your balance is $3,000, that is a credit utilization of 30%. High credit utilization often signals financial stress. We have looked at people who are seeking debt relief and their credit utilization. (Low credit utilization is 30% or less, medium is between 31% and 50%, high is between 51% and 75%, very high is between 76% to 100%, and over-utilized over 100%). In August 2024, people seeking debt relief had an average of 88% credit utilization.
Here are some interesting numbers:
Credit utilization bucket | Percent of debt relief seekers |
---|---|
Over utilized | 88% |
Very high | 5% |
High | 3% |
Medium | 1% |
Low | 3% |
The statistics refer to people who had a credit card balance greater than $0.
You don't have to have high credit utilization to look for a debt relief solution. There are a number of solutions for people, whether they have maxed out their credit cards or still have a significant part available.
Credit card debt - average debt by selected states.
According to the 2023 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) the average credit card debt for those with a balance was $6,021. The percentage of families with credit card debt was 45%. (Note: It used 2022 data).
Unsurprisingly, the level of credit card debt among those seeking debt relief was much higher. According to August 2024 data, 89% of the debt relief seekers had a credit card balance. The average credit card balance was 15659.
Here's a quick look at the top five states based on average credit card balance.
State | Average credit card balance | Average # of open credit card tradelines | Average credit limit | Average Credit Utilization |
---|---|---|---|---|
Connecticut | $18,817 | 9 | $28,218 | 75% |
Arkansas | $18,773 | 7 | $24,237 | 96% |
New Jersey | $18,372 | 9 | $26,611 | 79% |
New Hampshire | $18,255 | 8 | $25,170 | 81% |
Massachussettes | $17,942 | 8 | $25,538 | 77% |
The statistics are based on all debt relief seekers with a credit card balance over $0.
Are you starting to navigate your finances? Or planning for your retirement? These insights can help you make informed choices. They can help you work toward financial stability and security.
Support for a Brighter Future
No matter your age, FICO score, or debt level, seeking debt relief can provide the support you need. Take control of your financial future by taking the first step today.
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