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Credit Card Debt Grows, But Younger Generations Express Optimism After Pandemic

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In post-COVID times, everyone wants a chance to get out of the house along with being optimistic about the future. The younger generations were hit particularly hard—for minors, going to school suddenly became a strange ordeal, and for college students, many were relegated back home and enrolled in an unexpected mish-mash of hybrid studies, much online. Many college students and graduates alike had just begun jobs, often in the service sector, only to be left quickly unemployed as businesses began to lay off people right away.

As schools and universities begin to open back up, recent news shows that college-age students have a very positive outlook for the rest of 2021 and beyond. They do, as an overall group, seem to have increased use of credit cards though, leaving a question mark about how well they will be able to handle such responsibilities during airtime of financial recovery for most. Currently, 53 percent of college students have two or more credit cards, and 38 percent do not intend to pay off their bills in total each month.

“We have been encouraged to see college students responding to the COVID pandemic with such resilience but worry they may be getting ahead of themselves financially,” said Ray Martinez, Co-founder and President of EVERFI. “Financial literacy will continue to be key as students find the right strategies for managing their money and working toward successful financial futures.”

The ability of youths to pay back considerable debts is often a point of contention in discussion student loans, along with pointing fingers at who is to blame for the student loan debt crisis. While taking on student loan debt is considered normal, many believe that debt has been allowed to get out of control because rising freshman, barely out of high school, have little to no understanding about how difficult it is to pay back thousands of dollars. Along with that, a lack of counseling by schools is often one of the leading complaints in the US. Without proper advising before signing on the dotted line for student loans—and without enough counseling on the way out as they graduate—young people may just be set up for financial failure, almost before they even begin in life.

Delinquencies can lead to defaults quickly, whether pertaining to credit card debt, medical debt, student loan debt, or more. When such issues escalate, young consumers may find themselves very surprised and feeling helpless in the face of legal action—something they have never experienced. In the face of a summons and complaint, most defendants have 20 to 30 days to respond and begin working on a defense. This is critical, and especially for the younger generations who don’t want to see their credit destroyed right in the beginning.

Speak with an attorney from Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC as soon as possible to examine your options. Our attorneys have decades of experience in serving clients as they navigate through challenging financial situations, to include student loan issues, bankruptcy, and other debt management processes. We are here to help! Click here to schedule a free 30-minute consultation, call us at (844) 431-3851, or email us at info@debtorprotectors.com.

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