Parents

$26,600.  The Project on Student Debt is back with the annual update and estimates that 66% of college seniors who graduated in 2011 has student loan debt, and the average is $26,600.  But wait, there’s more.

37% of working young graduates had jobs that did not require a college degree.

19% were either working part-time or had given up looking for work entirely.  Given up at age 24?

The unemployment rate for the young grads was 8.8%.

High debt and depressed income is not a recipe for success.   The twenties are the time for you to get ahead financially and get out of debt, not to struggle and get further behind.  Your daily decisions about spending will make a difference for years.  Financial education tools are widely available for free, so there is no excuse to be uninformed.  If you are the kind of person who does better with guided help, our financial coaching program might be the ticket for you.

Parents, if you see your kids struggling with financial matters or student loans, please urge them to get some advice.  They might not want to hear the advice from you, but that doesn’t mean they won’t listen to anyone.