11 Wild Things Graduates Would Do to Erase Their Student Debt
Life + Money

11 Wild Things Graduates Would Do to Erase Their Student Debt

iStockphot/The Fiscal Times

What lengths would people  be willing to go to if they could erase their student debt? The student loan rate aggregator LendEDU commissioned an online survey among college graduates to discover just that.

Related: Here’s Why It Takes Women Longer to Pay Off Student Loans

Here are some of the crazy things people would be willing to do if they could wipe the slate clean:

58 percent: Would forgo all social media for life.

57 percent: Would take a punch from Mike Tyson.

57 percent: Would abstain from coffee for life.

56 percent: Would deny themselves alcohol and drugs for life.

40 percent: Would take one year off their life expectancy.

36 percent: Would cease texting for life.

28 percent: Would name their firstborn daughter Sallie Mae.

7 percent: Would cut off their pinky finger.

4 percent: Would contract a sexually transmitted disease.

21 percent: Would wear the exact same outfit everyday for the rest of their lives.

5 percent: Would move to Syria.

Americans are doing well paying off credit card balances, car loans and mortgages on time but are lagging behind when it comes to student loans.

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that more people are late on student loans than any other form of debt. The percentage of student loans in severe delinquency, meaning 90 days past due, is steep compared with other forms of consumer credit.

Related: Worried About Student Loans? A New Repayment Plan May Help

At the end of 2015, about 11.5 percent of the $1.23 trillion in student debt was severely delinquent, while only 7.7 percent of the $733 billion in total credit card debt was classified as severely delinquent.

In order to combat rising debt, young Americans are delaying major life decisions, according to survey conducted by American Student Assistance. Nearly three quarters of young people are putting off saving for retirement or other investments, a little over two fifths are waiting to start a family and a little over a quarter have marriage on hold. 

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