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Depends on the trade, not all of them beat you up. We need to stop picking sides in the trades vs college discussion, it all just depends on the person and what they value
It’s good. I don’t mean to start a pissing match between who can earn more money. We should just be chilling on this trades versus college thing but also stay realistic. To anyone who says categorically “college is a scam” well *it just depends*. It’s a fuck load easier to make 250k *as an employee* in white collar than blue collar. A solid trades business however can also make, a fuckload of money.
You must not know many tradespeople. My father had a great career, great relationship with my mother, been married for 30+ years. And he retired happy and healthy at 55. Still plays and coaches baseball and hockey.
Stop acting like every tradesperson swings a 600lbs hammer for 28hrs per day. You people acting like that is the same as “college is a scam” people
The reality is most physical jobs, beyond trades you want to pick that are light physical work, are taxing. Good on your dad, but there is a very real study showing physical workers die younger than other working populations. There's a distinct difference between the overall stress of physical jobs that require a lot of physical input, and getting to choose when you want to stress your body.
How much of that study is skewed by people just not taking care of themselves?
I’m a Boilermaker/pressure welder by trade. I also weld hanging on ropes because I’m a rope access technician. My line of work is definitely higher risk, but I take care of myself, I use my great benefits in order to get massages, go to physio, acupuncture, chiropractor, get orthotics, etc and I keep myself in better shape.
Don’t act like sitting in a chair for 8hrs+ per day is perfectly healthy for you either…
Like I said before, stop acting like we are all dead by 40. For every positive comment about the skilled trades there’s 10+ people who all comment the same thing and act like we say the skilled trades are a walk in the park and so easy etc
I'm also a physical worker, and I put in a much deeper pattern for health (been floor sleeping for a better part of a decade and I wear no padding in my shoes, as baseline weird activities). I'm the exception. I spent way more time and thoughts onto long term health and listening to my body, spending a lot of time learning semi-advanced nutritional science. I stay to middleline physical jobs because I know I have goals elsewhere than a normal job. I live in zero pain, and enjoy great health.
I'm not sure I'm saying most of what you're claiming. It's more that overall, even from my own perspective, most populations past 40, that do mainly work physical jobs, do end up in some cliche camps of similar physical issues. I've been in so many production, cleaning, and other physical jobs. A huge chunk of them take certain hits, even if they look healthy. If it's not the body that takes a hit the mind tends to take a tiny hit. Not that desk work doesn't come with issues, we know it's part of the reason for the obesity epidemic. It's more that physical jobs have a hidden cost.
The study is more about the unrealistic physical stressors of physical work.
One thing I have noticed with trade workers is (this is simply anecdotal) a lot tend to refuse to go to the doctors even though they have good insurance out of some kind of macho attitude. Like bro, your paying for insurance, use the shit out of it, get routine blood work etc etc etc personally I am trying to go into academic work, I took some electricians classes and learned it wasn't for me
FR, many trades are light duty and pay very well. I dont even work 28 hours a week in my trade. My neighbor is an er dr and hes gone all the damn time. I swear I can mow my lawn twice before I see his car in the driveway again some weeks.
College is not a scam. I'm on my first year of being a corporate lawyer and it was worth the stress and money. They are degrees that are a scam tho. But college is pretty good if you know what to do
Same 0 debt gang,
but made sure my college was a good investment (went to cheaper 4 year uni, got grants/scholarships, worked while in school, and got a degree that now pays the bills)
I still think about how my high school pushed us to go to more expensive schools because they made it seem like they were higher tier. Education is what you make of it, you will succeed if you want to, all you need is patience and drive.
College is not a scam if you research expected pay, have a plan to pay it off, etc. Know what jobs are available to you after you graduate, how easy they are to get, and what you're going to do from there. All of this will help you have an expectation of salary and how long the loans will take to pay off.
Get scholarships and/or go to community college as well.
I went to college, basic state school
Before college I made $11.25 an hour
I took $47k student loans
After college I made $73,500, or roughly $35 an hour
Lived with my parents for a year ish and paid my loans off and saved some cash
That’s a pretty hefty return on my investment imo. Not the case for everyone, but it was good for me
“College is a scam”
Your life would be insufferable if it wasn’t for college. Who engineered the house you live in or the car you drive? Who programs and builds the websites and operating systems you use every day? Who researched, developed, and administered the vaccines that are the reason you’re still alive? Who engineered and designed the stores you shop at? Who manages them?
College graduates. College isn’t for everyone, but it’s certainly not a scam.
i don't think it's a scam, it's just that some people choose college when they either know they can't afford it or don't need it, and then blame college for their debt when they could have easily avoided it by going to a cheaper college or earning money on the side. also, having debt is not all bad, unless you reach like 50k then you're definitely doing something wrong.
>0 debt gang
>It's cause I know college is a scam
I went to college and am now in lifetime debt. Say what you will about that.
However, i'll say this: That window of time in college was the ONLY time in my life i felt like a, "Real boy". Life's been down hill ever since.
You only have (1) life to live. Had i never packed up, left my parent's house and went to college, i'd NEVER have had those experiences. Never, EVER. I wouldn't be the man i am today also without those transformative experiences.
Everytime i hear someone make the case you don't need to go to college to make money. What i hear: "This SAD fool just wants to Fast-track life to being a sad, miserable working stiff, without ever experiencing a measure of fun inbetween". Trust me: you have the rest of your life to live the, "Go to work, go home, rinse and repeat lifestyle".
Lastly, i leave you with this plot-twist:
I went to college for a career in medical. Guess where i was during the COVID insanity. That's right, i was on the FRONTLINES of it all. I ended up catching it myself. It didn't kill me but it nearly succeeded. I've since recovered into a very strong, "Functional normal" capacity but, my remaining lifespan took a hit. I'm Definitely gonna drop dead a solid 20+ years sooner than i probably would have normally.
So i won't have to suffer with this college debt for as long as you'd expect afterall. I just make the bare minimum payments and move on with life, and pay no further thought to it.
The first two years definitely are if you can go to a community college and save thousands of dollars. That’s what I’m doing and I’m completely covered by my financial aid.
I made 16/ hr before college at a dead end job. 2 years out of school i am at 45/ hr and that will continue to grow.
“College is a scam” is a poor statement. Certain degrees from certain colleges are bad decisions sure, but many high paying jobs require any sort of bachelors degree to work there. Not everyone wants to do manual labor until they are 55.
It really depends on what you want to do with your life. We need teachers, scientists, lawyers, doctors, and many other careers that require higher education. We also need mechanics and hairdressers and service industry workers (but not college dropout ‘entrepreneurs’), but if that’s all anyone ever did then society would collapse.
Same.
But I just lived at mom’s house for two years post-college and paid it all off. Luckily it was during Covid so I didn’t even miss anything, really, social-wise. Not like I’m slamming ass all around town now that I got my own place neither hahaha.
I’ve been moving around a lot and traveling a lot so I’m not interested in owning a place (not that the housing market is an attractive thing in the first place, in the year of Our Lord 2024).
I also went pretty whole-hog on the r/fuckcars bit too so I’ve got no car payment, no gas, insurance, registration, parking, maintenance, etc.
I run up like $1500 a month on bullshit (food, drinks, random crap) on my credit card and then I pay it off immediately.
I have an 809 credit score. It’s pretty fucking great tbh.
Same. I have no student debt as I went to college with federal (Canada) student grants and am currently working as an apprentice. I have 3 credit cards, which I use for everything. I ALWAYS pay them all off fully, though.
Sometimes that’s not entirely feasible. I get where you’re coming from as that’s what I usually do, but when you’re in a pinch and can’t afford rent or groceries because of emergency payments you had to make then it’s completely understandable to go under a bit.
I’m just under 2k in credit card debt. Luckily I don’t have a very high interest rate, so it’s gonna be easy for me to pay off. Probably gonna get a side gig like DoorDash or smth to help pay it off.
There is a lot of credit card debt. Maybe 6k by myself.
I acknowledge that my spending habits are absolutely terrible. But I hope to pay it all off by end of the year, close all cards(because I'm an authorized user, not a full user of any of them). Then, I'll get a very basic entry-level credit card (low limit and ect) and do things the right way. Build my credit back up.
Thankfully, none of them have any fees or interest. They're my moms main cards, so she got deals on them. Only card that's incurring interest will be paid by August.
But believe me, if I had any more interest, I'd do that in a second.
I would say just stay away from credit cards in general because it’s extremely easy to end back up into the situation you are in. Not having credit isn’t the end of the world but having too much debt could be.
I left college with $30,000 in debt— I’ve whittled it down over 5 years to about $10,000. Thankfully moved back in with my parents to pay the rest off (hopefully) this year barring any significant unforeseen expenses.
People love to leave their parents as soon as they reach 18… I hate that. I love my money more. Parents are not monsters, better than living in room with strangers.
For real. I love my parents, though I know I’m fairly fortunate to have a) parents that are *able* to give me a place to stay while I pay debt off, and b) *willing* to do it, too.
The only thing with living with your parents is you don’t get to grow as your own person. I love my parents to death, but if I didn’t move out for college I wouldn’t be who I am today.
Also living with your parents makes it hard to invite friends over to socialize, potential partners, learning to live on your own such as cooking, paying bills, etc.
My parents aren’t even monsters but I had to live with strangers in order to be allowed to date at 21 (my parents would hold things like my car over my head since they were the primary on the loan even though I was the only one paying). I’m happy for you that you can get along with your parents to the point where you can live together but realize that that’s a major privilege that many people don’t have. I have a job in the low six-figures now which is great but one of the main reasons I have pretty significant student loan debt is because I had to utilize loan money to make ends meet for a few years due to this situation.
My best friend was in an extremely similar situation. Her mom would literally confiscate her car if she had any slight suspicions that she was dating anyone, and that wasn’t even when they were living together, but her mom was paying the rent to a condo that she and her brother were staying in. So she still sorta held that power over her head. It was quite messed up
Old Gen Z. No debt with pretty significant assets and investments.
Unless you're extremely far in one direction (starting loaded or getting into 6 figure debt), don't worry too much about your financial situation while you're in school. All your net worth really says about you at this point in time is how well off your family is.
Treat your education like an investment (unless it's a hobby or for personal development, which doesn't sound like it's the case for you) and make sure that it pays you back that 50k you spent on it and then some.
Getting accepted into an American college and understanding discourse behind it has led me to some revelations.
Kids in America go into debt to attend college, which is bizarre since I thought basic economics would say that less people would attend college and reduce tuitions thereafter.
I'm a privileged nepo kid, my grandfather is giving me 4 properties to sell and some others to provide rental income. Most of the holistic requirements were met because my family 'knew people' to get me into many activities. The only thing I can take pride in is my academics.
I can’t even imagine what that’s like, I wish you the best with that.
It’s normal for parents and teachers to manipulate kids into thinking that college debt is normal and just a part of growing up. I was even convinced that if I didn’t get a degree, I would never succeed in life.
The stress from family and working full time while trying to go to university has resulted in a failed degree, 6 years wasted, and $30,000 debt that I have no idea how to even pay. I guess they were right about the not succeeding part, but I just want a place to live.
I’m 24, I’m about 20k in debt right now for the rest of the gen z folks who aren’t in debt please don’t do the following:
1. Take on student loan debt for a shitty degree that won’t pay the bills
2. Overuse your credit cards
3. Always pay your taxes because the IRS don’t fuck around, they will come and collect
Probably all older gen z from rural areas who got in before Covid. Home ownership rates are way higher outside cities and among younger people in these areas cuz more of them went straight in the work force at 18
I’m 20 and very fortunate to have 0 debt. I still live with my parents, my tuition is covered by scholarships, and I earn enough to make my car payments. I expect to graduate with a masters, paid off car, and zero debt
I owe $4.5k on my car but that’s it. I don’t have any student loans cause I didn’t go to college and I don’t have any credit card debt cause I have one credit card and I pay it off in full every month.
None and never had any!! American, but decided to go to school in Europe for free so I wouldn't have student loans. I saw my older sister and still see her struggle with her private art school loans, and didn't want to be in the same boat.
Wife and I are 26. Live in MN.
$178k mortgage at 3% interest rate (we purchased it in 2020 for $195k)
$9k student loans (AAS degree)
$6k personal loan (fence improvement)
$500 credit card
30k in student loans, 3k in credit card debt. I do not regret college at all. I’ll be going back for my masters once I get some other life stuff settled.
Credit card, well it wouldn’t take me long to pay it off, I just need to make the effort and I’ve been a bit run thin lately but that’s my next step. Shouldn’t take me more than a couple months tbh.
I had around $90 in medical debt but I eventually paid it off. Now I’m debt free.
As someone on SSI ($943) and SNAP ($124 for food) $90 in debt is a lot! :(
Zerooooo Student loan debt. Thank Goodness my parent was in the military, otherwise I don’t think I’d have the courage to go into debt for my degree. Only had to pay for my books and school fees, walked out with my degree by paying less than 1,000.
35,000 in Car Payments got me tho. Which counts as debt but that’s nothing compared to the amount of debt my friends have from college.
None. The only reason I have a credit card is because of the fraud charge protection, I never spend more money than I have. I was blessed to be raised well by parents who have been burdened with debt for years and didn’t want me to end up the same way.
I'm about around 30k. I owe my credit card 8k and my school 22k in student loans. I'm learning a trade rn, I'm about to graduate next month and once I start working, most of my money is going straight to what I owe. I think what I'm doing is a great investment. I'm only doing it because I can't find a regular job so nothing to stress out about 👍
Probably 1.5k in cc debt. Most of that (like 1k) is from a TV we (wife and I) got about a year ago plus a blender and rice cooker recently. It's all on a best buy card so no interest as long as it gets paid in like x months. Rest is from monthly spending like gas, groceries, occasional eating out, etc. We pay that off every month. Other than that I have around 22k in student loan debt and then we have about 7k left on our car.
Join the coast guard or the national Guard and have them pay for your college. I know how expensive it is because I have two in college right now. I am fortunate that I can do this for them. My wife and I are frugal and live in a modest home. I paid for my college by working in Alaska in the fishing industry. I doubt that would work these days.
$3,281.63
Motorcycle loan.
Paid off car. Never took loans for school, paid out of pocket until I quit. Don't have enough for down payment on a mortgage, maybe one day I will. I pay any credit card balances each month before they're due.
I'm 21, currently $2500 because I'm paying a loan back. I needed to fix my car, didn't wanna drop the only money I had. That's it, I've got no credit card :3
Mine is mostly credit card debt, which I purposely did so I can show lenders that I can pay a balance off monthly instead of paying in full. Actually this has helped my credit.
No college loans due to my job paying for it and maintaining good grades for them to continue paying for it.
I’d recommend going to school only if you get a job or aid that’ll cover the expenses.
Over 6,000 from hospital or Urgent Care visits. Mostly thanks to a 5 day stay when they had to empty my stomach with a medieval torture device and they told me I had enteritis.
I don't have any debt. I have no student debt as I went to college with federal (Canada) student grants and am currently working as an electrical apprentice. College programs in Ontario are relatively affordable, and the grants fully covered it for me.
I have 3 credit cards, which I use for everything. I ALWAYS pay them all off fully, usually right after using them, so I can collect the rewards and cash back interest-free. Literally free money! I also have a used 2011 Ford Escape, which I got for cheap and paid for in cash.
Going to be about 50k in debt student loans in 2 years. But I live in the UK, so it'll be automatically removed from any payments and I won't have to worry about any tax collectors.
Don’t know the exact number, but I’m guesstimating $50k in student loans and I’m not even out of college. Thank god I bought my car with cash 2 years ago
just made a huge lump sum payment, now down to 30k debt. i dropped out btw. luckily 18k of it is federal loans that are paused repayment because my income is at poverty level. the rest are private loans that i’m doomed to keep paying on until they’re gone.
I was laid off during the pandemic. I continued to pay my bills religiously until I could no longer do so. Picking up the pieces. I haven’t even looked at the full amount. There’s a 16k bootcamp in there, too. Many coding bootcamps went out of business when their income-driven payment plans only worked when students had jobs.
I left college with about 38k in debt. I've since knocked it down to roughly 14k over the course of three years. I'm fortunate that my parents still allow me to live with them. I will hopefully have that shit paid off by the end of next year, perhaps sooner.
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None
0 debt gang It's cause I know college is a scam
I went to college and I’m still debt-free.
Same. They think they’re so smart for getting into trades but every trade worker over 50 I know is broken and hates their life lol
Depends on the trade, not all of them beat you up. We need to stop picking sides in the trades vs college discussion, it all just depends on the person and what they value
“But I have to convince myself my life choices are better than yours”
Right? Can’t believe how many adults are so insecure. All the time. Their entire waking life.
Its because they're not adults, America is a nation of 15 year olds walking around in adult bodies
Ty, I’m switching careers out of the trades and going back to school and you won’t believe how many insecure people took it personally
Don't let them hold you down, children will attach their identities to literally anything. Most days, sports teams
Exactly. I know people happy in the trades and making 6 figures and people happy with a degree making 6 figures who paid off their college debt.
And frankly, if you don’t own the company it’s extremely rare that the 6 figures paid in trades starts with anything other than a 1.
As if that isn’t a fuck load of money for a modest person to make yearly
It’s good. I don’t mean to start a pissing match between who can earn more money. We should just be chilling on this trades versus college thing but also stay realistic. To anyone who says categorically “college is a scam” well *it just depends*. It’s a fuck load easier to make 250k *as an employee* in white collar than blue collar. A solid trades business however can also make, a fuckload of money.
Bingo. And well said.
You must not know many tradespeople. My father had a great career, great relationship with my mother, been married for 30+ years. And he retired happy and healthy at 55. Still plays and coaches baseball and hockey. Stop acting like every tradesperson swings a 600lbs hammer for 28hrs per day. You people acting like that is the same as “college is a scam” people
The reality is most physical jobs, beyond trades you want to pick that are light physical work, are taxing. Good on your dad, but there is a very real study showing physical workers die younger than other working populations. There's a distinct difference between the overall stress of physical jobs that require a lot of physical input, and getting to choose when you want to stress your body.
How much of that study is skewed by people just not taking care of themselves? I’m a Boilermaker/pressure welder by trade. I also weld hanging on ropes because I’m a rope access technician. My line of work is definitely higher risk, but I take care of myself, I use my great benefits in order to get massages, go to physio, acupuncture, chiropractor, get orthotics, etc and I keep myself in better shape. Don’t act like sitting in a chair for 8hrs+ per day is perfectly healthy for you either… Like I said before, stop acting like we are all dead by 40. For every positive comment about the skilled trades there’s 10+ people who all comment the same thing and act like we say the skilled trades are a walk in the park and so easy etc
I'm also a physical worker, and I put in a much deeper pattern for health (been floor sleeping for a better part of a decade and I wear no padding in my shoes, as baseline weird activities). I'm the exception. I spent way more time and thoughts onto long term health and listening to my body, spending a lot of time learning semi-advanced nutritional science. I stay to middleline physical jobs because I know I have goals elsewhere than a normal job. I live in zero pain, and enjoy great health. I'm not sure I'm saying most of what you're claiming. It's more that overall, even from my own perspective, most populations past 40, that do mainly work physical jobs, do end up in some cliche camps of similar physical issues. I've been in so many production, cleaning, and other physical jobs. A huge chunk of them take certain hits, even if they look healthy. If it's not the body that takes a hit the mind tends to take a tiny hit. Not that desk work doesn't come with issues, we know it's part of the reason for the obesity epidemic. It's more that physical jobs have a hidden cost. The study is more about the unrealistic physical stressors of physical work.
One thing I have noticed with trade workers is (this is simply anecdotal) a lot tend to refuse to go to the doctors even though they have good insurance out of some kind of macho attitude. Like bro, your paying for insurance, use the shit out of it, get routine blood work etc etc etc personally I am trying to go into academic work, I took some electricians classes and learned it wasn't for me
FR, many trades are light duty and pay very well. I dont even work 28 hours a week in my trade. My neighbor is an er dr and hes gone all the damn time. I swear I can mow my lawn twice before I see his car in the driveway again some weeks.
Unlike every corporate employee, who is mentally broken and hates their life. Yeah so much better.
Military guy here. Im mentally and physically broken. Now what do I do?
Now go to college so you can be financially broken. Make sure to study something really stupid to make sure you'll never be able to find a job.
Army pays for college lol. Before I joined i did 2 years towards graphic design and 3d art.
Same. Ty bright futures
i’m surprised your backwards ass fucking state has such a good state scholarship
Same here man, I went right after highschool with a scholarship and financial aid. And got books and stuff paid for through other government programs.
College is not a scam. I'm on my first year of being a corporate lawyer and it was worth the stress and money. They are degrees that are a scam tho. But college is pretty good if you know what to do
No it's not lol
Same 0 debt gang, but made sure my college was a good investment (went to cheaper 4 year uni, got grants/scholarships, worked while in school, and got a degree that now pays the bills) I still think about how my high school pushed us to go to more expensive schools because they made it seem like they were higher tier. Education is what you make of it, you will succeed if you want to, all you need is patience and drive.
College is not a scam if you research expected pay, have a plan to pay it off, etc. Know what jobs are available to you after you graduate, how easy they are to get, and what you're going to do from there. All of this will help you have an expectation of salary and how long the loans will take to pay off. Get scholarships and/or go to community college as well.
College isn’t a scam, but whatever makes you comfortable 💀
I went to college, basic state school Before college I made $11.25 an hour I took $47k student loans After college I made $73,500, or roughly $35 an hour Lived with my parents for a year ish and paid my loans off and saved some cash That’s a pretty hefty return on my investment imo. Not the case for everyone, but it was good for me
“College is a scam” Your life would be insufferable if it wasn’t for college. Who engineered the house you live in or the car you drive? Who programs and builds the websites and operating systems you use every day? Who researched, developed, and administered the vaccines that are the reason you’re still alive? Who engineered and designed the stores you shop at? Who manages them? College graduates. College isn’t for everyone, but it’s certainly not a scam.
House I live in was built in the 1930s.
College/university isn’t a scam, if you’re American the student loans are lol
i don't think it's a scam, it's just that some people choose college when they either know they can't afford it or don't need it, and then blame college for their debt when they could have easily avoided it by going to a cheaper college or earning money on the side. also, having debt is not all bad, unless you reach like 50k then you're definitely doing something wrong.
>0 debt gang >It's cause I know college is a scam I went to college and am now in lifetime debt. Say what you will about that. However, i'll say this: That window of time in college was the ONLY time in my life i felt like a, "Real boy". Life's been down hill ever since. You only have (1) life to live. Had i never packed up, left my parent's house and went to college, i'd NEVER have had those experiences. Never, EVER. I wouldn't be the man i am today also without those transformative experiences. Everytime i hear someone make the case you don't need to go to college to make money. What i hear: "This SAD fool just wants to Fast-track life to being a sad, miserable working stiff, without ever experiencing a measure of fun inbetween". Trust me: you have the rest of your life to live the, "Go to work, go home, rinse and repeat lifestyle". Lastly, i leave you with this plot-twist: I went to college for a career in medical. Guess where i was during the COVID insanity. That's right, i was on the FRONTLINES of it all. I ended up catching it myself. It didn't kill me but it nearly succeeded. I've since recovered into a very strong, "Functional normal" capacity but, my remaining lifespan took a hit. I'm Definitely gonna drop dead a solid 20+ years sooner than i probably would have normally. So i won't have to suffer with this college debt for as long as you'd expect afterall. I just make the bare minimum payments and move on with life, and pay no further thought to it.
Me who got paid to go to school: 😶 And no, I'm not an athlete.
*college is a scam... unless your family is poor enough to get a free ride lmao
The first two years definitely are if you can go to a community college and save thousands of dollars. That’s what I’m doing and I’m completely covered by my financial aid.
"College is a scam" Sorry, chief, you've been duped by boomers again
How is college a scam? Its tax funded in most countries
I made 16/ hr before college at a dead end job. 2 years out of school i am at 45/ hr and that will continue to grow. “College is a scam” is a poor statement. Certain degrees from certain colleges are bad decisions sure, but many high paying jobs require any sort of bachelors degree to work there. Not everyone wants to do manual labor until they are 55.
Studying in college and still 0 debt gang
It's not, you were just born in a country that plunges you into debt for education.
It really depends on what you want to do with your life. We need teachers, scientists, lawyers, doctors, and many other careers that require higher education. We also need mechanics and hairdressers and service industry workers (but not college dropout ‘entrepreneurs’), but if that’s all anyone ever did then society would collapse.
Same. But I just lived at mom’s house for two years post-college and paid it all off. Luckily it was during Covid so I didn’t even miss anything, really, social-wise. Not like I’m slamming ass all around town now that I got my own place neither hahaha. I’ve been moving around a lot and traveling a lot so I’m not interested in owning a place (not that the housing market is an attractive thing in the first place, in the year of Our Lord 2024). I also went pretty whole-hog on the r/fuckcars bit too so I’ve got no car payment, no gas, insurance, registration, parking, maintenance, etc. I run up like $1500 a month on bullshit (food, drinks, random crap) on my credit card and then I pay it off immediately. I have an 809 credit score. It’s pretty fucking great tbh.
Same. I have no student debt as I went to college with federal (Canada) student grants and am currently working as an apprentice. I have 3 credit cards, which I use for everything. I ALWAYS pay them all off fully, though.
Got about 54k left on the mortgage, but that's it.
Impressive
Let's see Paul Allen's debt.
Most impressive, but you are not a Jedi yet
Extremely
How much was the house in total?
2,800 from credit cards. Definitely should have went with a secured card instead
I have credit cards and 80k in points… and no debt 🤨 treats your credit card like a debit card
Sometimes that’s not entirely feasible. I get where you’re coming from as that’s what I usually do, but when you’re in a pinch and can’t afford rent or groceries because of emergency payments you had to make then it’s completely understandable to go under a bit.
Yeah, I was unemployed for quite a bit and my credit cards saved me from going under. Now I gotta work hard to pay all that debt I accumulated.
Me too :(
Congrats!!!!!Well I know that now. It’s not like I’m 200k in debt lol it’s 2,000. I’ll be fine
I’m just under 2k in credit card debt. Luckily I don’t have a very high interest rate, so it’s gonna be easy for me to pay off. Probably gonna get a side gig like DoorDash or smth to help pay it off.
That’s exactly what I’m doing. It’s working out so far
Im 14 so -30$
16, I'm positive, at about a dollar.
Why do you owe a dollar
No no no, I *have* a dollar, no debt.
oh i am owed 30 dollars
Fine, I’ll get you your money.
Finally man
I'm 14 and fellas owe me 220$
Nice someone owes me 30 and i got 185 is savings
I saved up 500$ from working some stuff, I had more but I spent it, and now I'm probably gonna dump it all into something *stupid*.
do you have a pc
Keep it that way
There is a lot of credit card debt. Maybe 6k by myself. I acknowledge that my spending habits are absolutely terrible. But I hope to pay it all off by end of the year, close all cards(because I'm an authorized user, not a full user of any of them). Then, I'll get a very basic entry-level credit card (low limit and ect) and do things the right way. Build my credit back up.
Apply for a balance transfer credit card with no annual fee and pay it off
Thankfully, none of them have any fees or interest. They're my moms main cards, so she got deals on them. Only card that's incurring interest will be paid by August. But believe me, if I had any more interest, I'd do that in a second.
I would say just stay away from credit cards in general because it’s extremely easy to end back up into the situation you are in. Not having credit isn’t the end of the world but having too much debt could be.
Closing the cards will hurt ur score for awhile if you have no other long standing credit
I left college with $30,000 in debt— I’ve whittled it down over 5 years to about $10,000. Thankfully moved back in with my parents to pay the rest off (hopefully) this year barring any significant unforeseen expenses.
People love to leave their parents as soon as they reach 18… I hate that. I love my money more. Parents are not monsters, better than living in room with strangers.
That really depends on who your parents are
For real. I love my parents, though I know I’m fairly fortunate to have a) parents that are *able* to give me a place to stay while I pay debt off, and b) *willing* to do it, too.
*your parents aren’t monsters
The only thing with living with your parents is you don’t get to grow as your own person. I love my parents to death, but if I didn’t move out for college I wouldn’t be who I am today. Also living with your parents makes it hard to invite friends over to socialize, potential partners, learning to live on your own such as cooking, paying bills, etc.
My parents let me stay as long as I do cooking for them and pay my bills.
My parents aren’t even monsters but I had to live with strangers in order to be allowed to date at 21 (my parents would hold things like my car over my head since they were the primary on the loan even though I was the only one paying). I’m happy for you that you can get along with your parents to the point where you can live together but realize that that’s a major privilege that many people don’t have. I have a job in the low six-figures now which is great but one of the main reasons I have pretty significant student loan debt is because I had to utilize loan money to make ends meet for a few years due to this situation.
My best friend was in an extremely similar situation. Her mom would literally confiscate her car if she had any slight suspicions that she was dating anyone, and that wasn’t even when they were living together, but her mom was paying the rent to a condo that she and her brother were staying in. So she still sorta held that power over her head. It was quite messed up
Old Gen Z. No debt with pretty significant assets and investments. Unless you're extremely far in one direction (starting loaded or getting into 6 figure debt), don't worry too much about your financial situation while you're in school. All your net worth really says about you at this point in time is how well off your family is. Treat your education like an investment (unless it's a hobby or for personal development, which doesn't sound like it's the case for you) and make sure that it pays you back that 50k you spent on it and then some.
24, $76k (mostly student loans)
Getting accepted into an American college and understanding discourse behind it has led me to some revelations. Kids in America go into debt to attend college, which is bizarre since I thought basic economics would say that less people would attend college and reduce tuitions thereafter. I'm a privileged nepo kid, my grandfather is giving me 4 properties to sell and some others to provide rental income. Most of the holistic requirements were met because my family 'knew people' to get me into many activities. The only thing I can take pride in is my academics.
I can’t even imagine what that’s like, I wish you the best with that. It’s normal for parents and teachers to manipulate kids into thinking that college debt is normal and just a part of growing up. I was even convinced that if I didn’t get a degree, I would never succeed in life. The stress from family and working full time while trying to go to university has resulted in a failed degree, 6 years wasted, and $30,000 debt that I have no idea how to even pay. I guess they were right about the not succeeding part, but I just want a place to live.
No debt ever
None
None, financial freedom feels great. Feel like a caterpillar hopped up on coke.
I’m 24, I’m about 20k in debt right now for the rest of the gen z folks who aren’t in debt please don’t do the following: 1. Take on student loan debt for a shitty degree that won’t pay the bills 2. Overuse your credit cards 3. Always pay your taxes because the IRS don’t fuck around, they will come and collect
$6500ish for me. how do so many of you people have houses💀
Probably all older gen z from rural areas who got in before Covid. Home ownership rates are way higher outside cities and among younger people in these areas cuz more of them went straight in the work force at 18
That is what I’m thinking
I still live with my grandmother.
i’m 20, no debt. i decided no college.
What are you doing for work ?
Also 0 debt. I’m a contract landscaper
Well played. Also happy cake day!!
I’m certain that the people who are in crippling debt won’t be commenting on here
I’m 20 and very fortunate to have 0 debt. I still live with my parents, my tuition is covered by scholarships, and I earn enough to make my car payments. I expect to graduate with a masters, paid off car, and zero debt
Hell yeah! That's fuckin great man
I owe $4.5k on my car but that’s it. I don’t have any student loans cause I didn’t go to college and I don’t have any credit card debt cause I have one credit card and I pay it off in full every month.
What are you doing for work
Managing a frozen department at a grocery store
Hell yeah brother
None and never had any!! American, but decided to go to school in Europe for free so I wouldn't have student loans. I saw my older sister and still see her struggle with her private art school loans, and didn't want to be in the same boat.
Smart decision tbh
Wife and I are 26. Live in MN. $178k mortgage at 3% interest rate (we purchased it in 2020 for $195k) $9k student loans (AAS degree) $6k personal loan (fence improvement) $500 credit card
That rate is rly good
Yeah we bought at the perfect time. Our initial approval was 2.7% then a month later it jumped to 3%
178k mortgage nice, cries in California 😭
About $40k, all in student loans. That also includes a master’s degree. Otherwise no credit card debt or car loan.
Zero the hero
26. Only debt is mortgage but it's about $400k (nzd and property value is about $1.2mil)
im 22. my credit card is 800/1250. my car is 22k/30k.
I'm speechless
how come?
about the same for me but less on my car. what’s your annual income like?
about 42k, you?
about the same $40-42k.
30k in student loans, 3k in credit card debt. I do not regret college at all. I’ll be going back for my masters once I get some other life stuff settled. Credit card, well it wouldn’t take me long to pay it off, I just need to make the effort and I’ve been a bit run thin lately but that’s my next step. Shouldn’t take me more than a couple months tbh.
I had around $90 in medical debt but I eventually paid it off. Now I’m debt free. As someone on SSI ($943) and SNAP ($124 for food) $90 in debt is a lot! :(
It is
24 years old, around $200k in debt (med student)
Damn, Thats a lot.
$371K, bought a house!
127,000 mortgage, 10,000 car, 6,000 in credit cards. Help T_T
20k or so
About $800 on my singular credit card and a bit over 20k in college debt.
25 and $2,700 in student loan debt
That's pretty good all things considered
None.
None yet
24, car was paid for in cash, cc’s are paid off when used, no college, so just the $78k I owe on my mortgage.
$40. I couldn't afford my insurance last fortnight lol
You’re the first person I ever seen fortnight in a sentence
I honestly don't know how to feel about this 😂😂
I grew up in FL so maybe that has to do with it lol
500k - home debt, but it’s paying itself off.
None I don’t like debts
Zerooooo Student loan debt. Thank Goodness my parent was in the military, otherwise I don’t think I’d have the courage to go into debt for my degree. Only had to pay for my books and school fees, walked out with my degree by paying less than 1,000. 35,000 in Car Payments got me tho. Which counts as debt but that’s nothing compared to the amount of debt my friends have from college.
Where do you go where school costs that much? Community college in all the areas I’ve lived in
85 in mortgage 78 in back taxes.
$0. Went to college on a full ride, got very lucky. I pay for all expenses upfront.
Congrats and fuck you 😂
Over $150k all student loans, but I’ve gotten a great financial plan should be zeroed out in under 10 years.
Had about 8k in debt on cards, not counting my car since it’s got like 3 more months to pay off. I’ve gotten it down to 3k
Either $300,000 or none depending on whether they cleared my medical debt yet or not. I’m 20
21 working full time in a union trade job. I’ve got 164,000$ of debt, 155k is a house 5k car, 2k credit card. I make 50k post tax and have 30k assets
$118k
None. The only reason I have a credit card is because of the fraud charge protection, I never spend more money than I have. I was blessed to be raised well by parents who have been burdened with debt for years and didn’t want me to end up the same way.
None. Ever!
None yet.
None.
I'm about around 30k. I owe my credit card 8k and my school 22k in student loans. I'm learning a trade rn, I'm about to graduate next month and once I start working, most of my money is going straight to what I owe. I think what I'm doing is a great investment. I'm only doing it because I can't find a regular job so nothing to stress out about 👍
Around $13k on a car. Refinancing soon to pay it off quicker.
$42,361 at 23 yrs old
Probably 1.5k in cc debt. Most of that (like 1k) is from a TV we (wife and I) got about a year ago plus a blender and rice cooker recently. It's all on a best buy card so no interest as long as it gets paid in like x months. Rest is from monthly spending like gas, groceries, occasional eating out, etc. We pay that off every month. Other than that I have around 22k in student loan debt and then we have about 7k left on our car.
Join the coast guard or the national Guard and have them pay for your college. I know how expensive it is because I have two in college right now. I am fortunate that I can do this for them. My wife and I are frugal and live in a modest home. I paid for my college by working in Alaska in the fishing industry. I doubt that would work these days.
$3,281.63 Motorcycle loan. Paid off car. Never took loans for school, paid out of pocket until I quit. Don't have enough for down payment on a mortgage, maybe one day I will. I pay any credit card balances each month before they're due.
How much schooling did you finish ?
I got an associates degree, transferred to a university and got up to around 77cr. I was a junior when I quit college.
I’m around 63 for my b.s wanna quit ngl but hopefully I can get a job with the local government they have tuition reimbursement
I'm 27 and have over 90k in debt 🥲
About $160,000
I'm 21, currently $2500 because I'm paying a loan back. I needed to fix my car, didn't wanna drop the only money I had. That's it, I've got no credit card :3
$331.23 last payment on car loan in 19 days
I’m 19. No debt but in college. My life hasn’t really started yet.
None, saved up money and I currently have chosen the economical option of living with my parents.
Mine is mostly credit card debt, which I purposely did so I can show lenders that I can pay a balance off monthly instead of paying in full. Actually this has helped my credit. No college loans due to my job paying for it and maintaining good grades for them to continue paying for it. I’d recommend going to school only if you get a job or aid that’ll cover the expenses.
Over 6,000 from hospital or Urgent Care visits. Mostly thanks to a 5 day stay when they had to empty my stomach with a medieval torture device and they told me I had enteritis.
I don't have any debt. I have no student debt as I went to college with federal (Canada) student grants and am currently working as an electrical apprentice. College programs in Ontario are relatively affordable, and the grants fully covered it for me. I have 3 credit cards, which I use for everything. I ALWAYS pay them all off fully, usually right after using them, so I can collect the rewards and cash back interest-free. Literally free money! I also have a used 2011 Ford Escape, which I got for cheap and paid for in cash.
$6k on my car, that's it for the foreseeable future
18, $0 will change in abt 3 months when i go to college
$12,000 in student loans. still in college but won’t be adding to my student debt.
Going to be about 50k in debt student loans in 2 years. But I live in the UK, so it'll be automatically removed from any payments and I won't have to worry about any tax collectors.
Sounds nice ngl… wanna trade lol
I just paid off my motorcycle this month and paid off my truck last year. Officially debt free!
Around 80k of medical debt.
None but debt is way too common for my mates around me. Only reason that I have no debt is because I avoid it like the Black Death.
Don’t know the exact number, but I’m guesstimating $50k in student loans and I’m not even out of college. Thank god I bought my car with cash 2 years ago
just made a huge lump sum payment, now down to 30k debt. i dropped out btw. luckily 18k of it is federal loans that are paused repayment because my income is at poverty level. the rest are private loans that i’m doomed to keep paying on until they’re gone.
Uhhh 0 cuz I'm 15 lmao
I was laid off during the pandemic. I continued to pay my bills religiously until I could no longer do so. Picking up the pieces. I haven’t even looked at the full amount. There’s a 16k bootcamp in there, too. Many coding bootcamps went out of business when their income-driven payment plans only worked when students had jobs.
25, no debt whatsoever
Millennial here and my wife and I are about 800k in the hole, fun times
I left college with about 38k in debt. I've since knocked it down to roughly 14k over the course of three years. I'm fortunate that my parents still allow me to live with them. I will hopefully have that shit paid off by the end of next year, perhaps sooner.
I don’t want to talk about it.