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Thursday, September 19th, 2019

It’s Not Just Millennials — Gen Z Is Dealing With A Lot Of Debt Now Too

Author:     Venessa Wong
Source:     Buzz Feed News
Publication Date:     September 17, 2019, at 1:49 p.m. ET
 Link: It’s Not Just Millennials — Gen Z Is Dealing With A Lot Of Debt Now Too
Stephan:   When I left university and went to work for National Geographic if I had had somewhere between $15 and $30 thousand worth of debt it would have made me crazy. Just thinking about it now gives me the jimjams. And yet, as this report lays out, this is the new normal. And if you came out of say Med School with a quarter of a million in debt... well, I have several younger friends to whom that happened and they were in their late 40s before they had the debt paid off, and it shaped their lives every day. When Grifter Trump and Moscow Mitch tell you how great the economy is doing just remember this Millennial and Gen Z debt, the homeless situation, and the fact that 40% of American families could not write a $400 check in an emergency.

Siraanamwong / Getty

Millennials carry an average of $27,900 in debt, not including mortgages, according to new data released today by Northwestern Mutual. Gen Z, the oldest of whom are now 22 years old, have an average debt of $14,700.

Having sizable debt at a young age “is the new normal,” said Chantel Bonneau, wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual. “There are lots of people who exit school, and before they start their first job, have debt. That is a different situation from 30 years ago.”

Millennials’ main source of debt is credit card bills, and Gen Z’s is student loans. In a previous poll by CreditCards.com, 40% millennials said the top reason they carried a credit card balance was daily expenses such as groceries, childcare, and utilities, and about 20% pointed to unexpected emergencies such as medical bills and car repairs. Bonneau said discretionary expenses such as vacations and eating meals out also contribute to credit card […]

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1 Comment

  1. Rev. Dean on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 4:05 am

    I would have an actual P.H.D. now if there was a way to get it without borrowing. I never allowed my self to be trapped by the debt crisis for anything. That is why I never finished my education in the normal way. I had to become an autodidact; learning on my own with only credits to my name being honorary; P.H.D. in Metaphysics.