Recently, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about a doctor in Ohio who accumulated over $550,000 in student debt.
What??!!??
It’s true. The article is here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-555000-StudentLoan-wallstreet-2682931608.html?x=0&.v=1
So what stands out to you?
The good doctor mentions at the end of the article about this debt preventing her from buying a house or a car. And putting off life goals such as marriage and having children. It is very clear to her that dealing with debt means more than dealing with money.
The article also offers a lesson on how money works. It either works for you or against you. And clearly in this case, it worked against the doctor. That interest is like a current going against you.
The last thing that stands out to me is the issue of education funding. It wasn’t discussed at all in the article, but did the doctor or her parents save for college? I don’t know the answer to that, but clearly whatever amount was saved, it certainly wasn’t enough. And a mountain of debt is the result.
The seeds of this debt disaster were likely planted years ago, when the doctor and her parents either consciously or unconsciously made the decision about how to pay for college.
Answer to last week’s trivia question: A – 2.9% Yes folks, it’s true. The bottom 50% of taxpayers in terms of income hardly pays any tax. In fact, there are many who don’t owe anything at all.
This week’s trivia question: President Obama’s recently submitted budget shows a record budget deficit. When was the last time the federal government reported a budget surplus?
A – 1981
B – 1994
C – 2001
D - 2005
