I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
While sitting in an airport waiting for an airplane (and making use of free wifi) I came across a website created by a young woman who owes almost $200,000 in student loan debt! Now, far be it from me to judge anyone else's debt, but I just can't wrap my brain around this one. I think all of this debt is from a bachelor's degree (nope, she's not a lawyer or doctor, as far as I can tell; apparently she wasn't a computer science graduate, since the links to other media sites on her blog don't work).
In any case, what intrigued me about her website is that she is asking for donations from people so that she can pay off her debt! And incredibly she's gotten a little over $6,000! I don't know how much of that came from family and friends, but the fact that she's 'made' over $6,000 in donations is pretty incredible. Her website is called 'TwoHUNDREDthou" and apparently she's getting all kinds of media attention.
Now, as a cautionary tale to would-be student loan takers, I like the idea of her website. If this keeps even one person from signing on the dotted line so they can attend an overpriced school or avoid working like a maniac or go on a really cool Spring Break trip every year, then the website is a success.
However, as a way to pay off debt that this woman knowingly took on, I'm sort of appalled. Or maybe a little jealous, as I work literally SEVEN days a week to right my wrongs and create a more stable financial future for myself.
What are your thoughts?
3 comments:
Wow. That's pretty much all I have to say. I agree that she needs to be more transparent about how exactly she got into debt and what she's doing alone to get out before she should solicit donations. It seems like she's trying to justify it, and she has some good points, too.
But, dang - she's got almost as much interest charged on her student loans as I have ... well, student loans. What an example of what not to do ...
As the mother of a recent college graduate who incurred debt needlessly (he could have lived at home and foregone $20,000 of the $30,000 he owes; he could have gone to a state school and owed absolutely nothing due to funds from a generous grandparent and scholarships), I agree with you 100%. I spent years try to dissuade my son from incurring debt as a lifestyle, sharing details of our own current struggle to dig out of debt and talking myself blue about how it limits your choices. Finally, I talked a lot about how it wasn't necessary, it was his choice, and paying it back would be his responsibility (no one else's) and that while we'd have empathy for him, we wouldn't bail him out. I think the fact that this girl thinks other people should pay her loans because they're too much is absurd. She signed her name. Having said that, I think it is appalling that the schools will encourage this kind of borrowing for non-professional degrees with income potential that will never make paying $200,000 off remotely palatable. There is enough blame to go around. I'll feel badly for her, but I won't contribute to her debt reduction fund. Life holds lessons and quick fixes don't teach them.
I feel for her, but tough beans I say.
Seriously, there are plenty of people who take on 2-3 jobs, who bust their butt to just get out of the mess they put themselves in, and using excuses like:
1. I am the 1st to attend college in my family
2. I don't know how I'll ever pay this off even sponging off my parents
3. I spent $200k on a degree that got me a crappy job in the end because I didn't think WHAT degree mattered
... does not fly with me.
I'm rather appalled. I won't donate or feed the frenzy. People can feel sorry for her, but I'd rather give the money to a charity or the local food bank.
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