Gen Xers with six-figure salaries can’t afford a home, have $315,000 in debt

That’s where most of her student loans came from, and while she now earns a six-figure salary, according to documents reviewed by BI, it’s not enough to pay off the balance alongside other expenses like rent. She even took on a second job outside of her full-time nursing career to make ends meet, meaning she now works six days a week.

“I was in a situation where I had to pivot and change my career so I could stay grounded,” Tajani told BI. “I feel like this country has failed us, had to come here, not even be born here, go to school and then you’re tied to these loans.”

Tajani’s student loans are currently in forbearance due to legal challenges facing President Joe Biden’s new income-driven SAVE repayment plan. Through this plan, Tajani said he received monthly payments of around $250 — significantly less than the nearly $600 he was paying previously.

For now, she is waiting to see a final court decision on the SAVE plan. She is among the millions of Americans struggling with consumer debt. The New York Federal Reserve recently found that Americans now owe a record $1.14 trillion on their credit cards, with balances up 5.8 percent from a year ago. Credit card interest rates are also at record highs, making it even harder for consumers to pay off their debt.

When it comes to student loans, Gen Xers and boomers have the highest average balances, according to a recent report by the New School’s Schwartz Center, preventing many of them from reaching financial goals later in life.

With rising housing prices and high interest rates in recent years, along with an increase in consumer debt, Tajani said she feels defeated that she can’t get ahead financially — especially after putting herself on the front lines as a nurse during the pandemic .

“I’m trying to get a budget, trying to cut expenses, and it’s been hard. It’s been really hard,” she said. “Basically, we readjusted, but then we get punished at the end.”

“It’s sad to see so many of us suffering”

With interest rates high to combat inflation during the pandemic, it’s no wonder Americans are struggling with consumer debt while juggling other basic expenses. Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Federal Reserve, told BI that the level of delinquency on consumer products such as credit cards is “a little bit normal.”

“The delinquency level is a little uncomfortably high and that’s a warning sign,” he said, referring to potential signals of an economic downturn.

Tajani is doing everything she can to get out of debt, but she also has some private student loans along with her federal loans, making it difficult to maintain all of her balances. That’s why the SAVE plan is so important to her – it would give her manageable payments to help her focus on affording other expenses.

“I have to have a second job to pay off my loans because without that, I wouldn’t be able to make the payments,” Tajani said. “So I feel it’s not fair to see all these lawsuits blocking these programs for us. And it’s just sad to see that many of us are suffering thinking that our country will help us and they are doing nothing about it. “

While the SAVE plan is stalled, the Department of Education is working to implement other relief efforts, such as its broader version of student loan forgiveness using the Higher Education Act of 1965. The department plans to begin offering this relief to borrowers in October, but legal. threats to that plan are already looming, meaning borrowers will likely face delays in getting help, if at all.

For now, Tajani is hopeful that some kind of relief will come, while acknowledging the uncertainty of the trials and the choices they could bring.

“Right now, we’re waiting to see what happens. I hope they do something because I’m sure the government doesn’t want people to see that happen, and it could affect a lot of people’s livelihoods,” she said. “So hopefully something will happen, but I just don’t know when that will happen.”

Struggling with consumer debt? How has it affected your financial decisions? Share your story with this reporter at [email protected].