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For generations, mortgages and student loans have been held up as textbook examples of “good debt,".This borrowing promises to build wealth or increase your earning power over time. On the other side of the coin is so-called “bad debt”, things like auto loans or credit card debt that don’t provide a financial return over time. As the costs of buying a home and getting a degree have continued to climb, more Americans are questioning whether those “good debt” investments are actually paying off.
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Why More Americans Regret College And Homeownership
The best debt is no debt.
My honest opinion is that both education and housing started out as social goods, and got turned into “industries” with the goals of maximizing returns for investors in the 80s. Let me know if I’m off the mark, though. 🤷🏾♂️
I say this as a college grad, most students are better off attending a community college then transferring to the cheapest school out of pocket. Students need to research the highest paying majors then pick the one that aligns with their strengths. For the masters, unless you have a scholarship for 100% tuition paid, work in the field and let your employer pay for the masters. Sometimes will do 100% tuition reimbursement or contribute to the IRS link. Depending on the industry, you may find that the ROI on a masters isn’t as high.
You also don't have to go to one of those expensive schools for all 4 years... You can go online or at a community college for the first two years, knock out all your gen-ed classes then go to one of those big name schools for just two years... Graduate with the same degree but spend half the money
America needs to look into how they do housing in Japan. The houses are looked at as just a place to live not an investment opportunity.
Millennials have been sounding the alarm on student loans for 20 years now. I started telling people that student loan debt wasn't worth going to college before I even graduated. It's hard to even appreciate and fully get the most out of your college experience when you see the debt piling up every year. All of the adults with more life experience kept reassuring me that it was worth it when I was 18-22 years old. The verdict: it wasn't.
You give an 18 year old a loan with lifetime consequences that should be illegal. JMO.
The only good debt is no debt 😒
Student loan debt makes sense for a select few degree fields. The problem is that 90% of degrees aren’t needed and don’t have a good financial payback.
These seem like two different conversations. Gainfully employed adults with personal savings purchase homes. Teenagers with no personal finance experience are essentially forced to take on student debt they don’t understand at the behest of every adult in their lives. It is predatory lending.
Between property taxes and HOA fees, do you really 'own' a home?
Our grandparents didn't need degrees to afford a house just a steady job.
Compound interest on a student loan is super predatory and should be illegal 😒
I'm 32 and still renting, and I'm becoming more and more comfortable with possibly being a lifelong renter. Just take what you'd be paying in home repairs and maintenance and invest it!
I was a financial aid officer and later, researcher. In the late 90s it was dawning on me how corrupt the system was. We were presenting students with unprecedented opportunities for money for which they had ZERO knowledge or preparation for. They had no prep for major life decisions abt taking on debtloads at 18, 19, 20. Yet colleges in conjuction with BANKS did everything to remove "barriers" to enrollment under the guise of educational opportunity. Colleges FRONTLOADED the maximum students were eligible for making them work hard to lower the amt to what they felt they needed. Thanks Sallie Mae for indebtifying generations in your pursuit of unprecedented profits.
Nothing in America works for the average person, absolutely nothing. And if you fall off, it's 100% your fault and your sole responsibility to get back up.
College was a joke for me back in 1989 with no real goals (80’s kid….I just wanted MONEY). I dropped out and worked in restaurants for 30 years. I didn’t drink, do drugs, waste my money. I saved, bought stocks, fully funded my Roth IRA for 30 years. I bought real estate, moved in roommates who paid me cash (which I used to pay off mortgages). Chose not to have children (too expensive). I retired at age 48……now living my best life with several homes paid off, and a 7 figure investment account!! 😎👌🥂
A house should not be looked at as an investment, that’s stupid…it should be looked at what it really is, a place to live.
Opinion: most ppl don’t regret homeownership, they regret buying homes that keep them house poor. They regret consumer spending decisions they make, that lead nowhere except debt
Debt is debt, either way you put it... its a scam when someone sells you a dream of "good debt"