23 Sep Study Shows Life Aspirations Impacted by Student Debt

New survey results from studentloanplanner.com found that marriages and life aspirations are impacted by student debt. BenefitsPro reporter Marlene Satter provided commentary on the survey in “Student loans put the kibosh on kids”.** “There are plenty of life plans that fall by the wayside for people carrying a big load of student loan debt, and having children is just one of them.” The survey found that “not only did 51 percent of student loan borrowers say those loans have affected their plans for having kids, a third of those with high balances say they put such plans on hold because of student loan debt.” Satter also detailed other negative effects that student loans have on borrowers: “A quarter say they’ve delayed getting married because of [student loans], 57 percent say those loans are a major stress factor in their relationship with their significant other and 20 percent say they’d consider a strategic divorce if they thought it would lower their student loan payments.” However, the article noted a bright side to the survey: “Some respondents…said being open about the amount of debt and payoff prospects has actually brought them closer together with their significant other, especially when both have loans and they decide to pool their resources to tackle the problem as a team.”