Get ruthless
Let’s talk about the magical, soul-warming bond between college grads and their lifelong companion: crippling debt. 🥰
Brace yourself, because these numbers? They’re straight out of a horror movie written by Sallie Mae and directed by the U.S. Department of Education.
💥 The Numbers That Make You Want to Cry
Total student loan debt: A chill $1.777 trillion 😬
Number of borrowers: Just 42.7 million lovely souls 🎓
Average balance: A breezy $38,375
Interest rate: A zesty 6.39% 🧂
Default rate: 11.2% — because who doesn’t want a default on their credit report?
Meanwhile, consumer debt that's not tied to chasing a diploma? Only 2.75% default rate. Apparently, your credit card is a safer bet than your future. 🤷♂️
🧮 But Wait, There's More!
🤑 The average starting salary for 2025 grads is $68,680, says NACE (National Association of "Congrats You’re Broke Anyway").
But Uncle Sam wants his cut. After taxes, you're looking at around $50,000 annually. Time to get out the ol’ budget spreadsheet (or cry into your ramen noodles, whichever works).
💰 The Budget Breakdown: Welcome to Adulthood!
Annual After-Tax Income: $50,000
Monthly Take-Home: ~$4,166
Here’s where your money flies away like student loan relief in Congress:
🏠 Rent/Mortgage $20,000
🍔 Food $5,000
💡 Utilities/Internet $3,000
📺 Streaming $2,000
🚗 Transportation $5,000
🛡 Insurance $2,000
🎉 Entertainment $5,000
🧘 Health/Self Care $5,000
📦 Online Impulses $5,000
🎓 Student Loans $5,200
Net Annual: - $7,200 🔥
Net Monthly: -$600 😵
Yup, you’re underwater faster than a crypto investor in 2022.
It’s that pesky student loan that is most of what’s tipping us over the edge.
Look, I was generous with these numbers. Plenty of people are drowning deeper than this — try $15,000 in the red annually. That’s not a budget deficit, that’s a full-blown black hole. I see this kind of number regularly in my financial coaching practice.
🧠 What’s the Game Plan?
Okay, you’ve got two options:
✅ Path #1: Get Ruthless
🧹 Cut expenses like you’re slashing vines in the jungle.
💪 Hustle like your future depends on it (because it does).
📉 Kill that debt like it insulted your mother.
This is the hard path — but it leads to actual freedom. Like, "I don’t need a co-signer for things anymore" freedom.
❌ Path #2: Join the Herd
💳 Swipe now, cry later.
🧠 Believe "minimum payment" is a lifestyle.
👵 Be 90 and still paying off your undergrad psych class because you “found yourself” in college.
And voilà! You’ve just become part of the $1.18 trillion 2025 credit card debt club. 🎉
🧭 So, What’s It Gonna Be, Jay?
👣 Path #1: Tough choices, temporary pain, eventual wealth.
🧨 Path #2: Easy now, broke forever.
You’re the hero of this financial sitcom. Just remember: even if the script sucks, you get to rewrite it.
👉🏼👉🏼 💸 Do you work hard as hell to simply pay the bills? And have little to show for it except being able to pay rent/mortgage, buy overpriced gas and food, with nothing left? Not even the ability to sit down for a movie and some popcorn without going into debt.
You are absolutely not alone!
Saving, investing, and building wealth is a way of life. The daily, monthly and annual decisions we make are everything toward our ability to retire, and retire early. This is what we talk about weekly on Working Wealth & Legacy Show.
We help thousands of people every day with simple easy tips, that stacked up over time will help you build wealth, not just income to spend on bills.
Jay Lieberman
Adoring Parent, Attorney, Radio Host, Realtor CA Lic #01874717 | NC Lic#341300
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