You probably know a bunch of your friends have student loan debt. You probably know that they hate it. But do you know how much debt people have and what they’re doing to get rid of their debt? Chances are you don’t, and your friends don’t know your situation either. Even though the vast majority of college graduates (more than 70%) finish with student loan debt, it’s still a taboo topic of conversation.
Today’s post talks about the problems borrowers face when talking openly about student loan debt and tips for overcoming the challenges. Estimated read time ~5 min Estimated watch time at 1.5x ~3 min.
Uncertainty
The first thing that comes up when someone wants to talk about their student loan debt is a sense of uncertainty. You might wonder Did I make mistakes no one else did? Is my situation bad because I was worse than average at navigating college? The uncertainty of how you stack up compared to others keeps many borrowers from sharing their story.
The easiest way to overcome uncertainty is to start by sharing your story with folks who are close to you and very trustworthy. Think your bestie from college, or that cool cousin of yours from a similar background. The more you talk to other borrowers the less uncertain you’ll be about how you stack up. Turns out almost everyone has student loan debt (more than you’d think), and most everyone made a couple of mistakes a long the way.
Hopelessness
What’s the point of sharing your student loan debt when it’s a hopeless mess you’re never going to get out from under? It’s not like anyone holds some magic key to unlock your student loan debt shackles. Many borrowers feel like there’s nothing that can be done about student loan debt, so why talk about it.
Student loan debt isn’t an entirely hopeless situation. Even if you really extended yourself financially there are repayment strategies that can help you. Talking to someone else going through it can help you learn new approaches and tips for navigating your own situation.
Fear of Criticism
If you share a story about your student loan debt, someone is going to be unhappy about it. That’s the ugly reality of it, someone who went to college when it was 4x less expensive and they could work 21 hours a week at minimum wage to pay for it is going to be critical. Not everyone understands objective financial reality, some only understand their own experience.
I share my story all the time and I get trolled all the time. If you’re worried about it, don’t feel the need to share your story publicly. Share it with your peers, other borrowers with debt and looking to talk, and share it with your younger siblings. There are so many people who can benefit from your story because they’re struggling with the same thing. Don’t feel like the only way to make a difference with your story is to share it big. If even one person picks a better strategy because of your story, you’ve done an amazing thing.
Talking about student loan debt is still a taboo topic. I think one of the biggest ways to solve the problem is for all of us borrowers to talk to each other about it. Think of all the problems you solve based on someone else’s experience. I mean if I want to buy a shirt I probably read at least 10 reviews as I make that decision. We can crowd source information about student loan debt repayment in a similar fashion. Learn from the experiences of those around us.
What do you think? Do you share your student loan debt story with folks or keep it close to the vest? Let me know in the comments below or on the Repayable Facebook Page.
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