Help graduates pay down those student loans
Gift-giving for that person on your list who graduated from college with student loan debt could be as easy as helping make a payment. Odds are it would be much appreciated.
A new survey of 1,000 people byLendEDU shows most would prefer the giver skip the present and make a student loan payment of equal value, even for modest gifts like a $50 Starbuck’s card.
Three in four debtors said they would pass on a fieldlevel ticket to Super Bowl LIII, and have the $6,405 price applied to their debt. How about a Netflix membership for 2019? Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed would rather see the $167.88 go to help pay off their debt.
Only the gift of a $100 bill had more student loan borrowers (64 percent) choosing it over an equally valued student loan payment.
The next greatest temptation was a new-age television, chosen by 47 percent of those surveyed. Still, the slight majority said they would rather the $2,596 knock down their debt.
Recent University of Oklahoma graduate J.D. Baker agrees the loan payment gift idea is a good one.
"My first loan payment is due in a couple months. I am financially prepared to make those payments. But if this were not the case, that would be a great gift to avoid default or delinquency on those loans," said Baker, who works in the office of Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.
It doesn't have to be a full monthly payment amount, the survey shows.
"A small student loan repayment can definitely make a great stocking stuffer this holiday season for many students and graduates facing financial burdens," said Bradley Ward, who helps veterans with education and employment services at the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
"It depends on the recipient," said Jordan Evans, who works in outreach services at the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
"If they’re having trouble paying their debt, or paying off their debt is a major priority, this would be a great gift," Evans said. "I like the idea. It’ll help with immediate expenses and reduce accrued interest over the life of the loan."
Mike Brown, author of the LendEDU report, had mixed emotions
about the survey.
"Ultimately, the results of this poll are promising to a degree because it shows that we may have a generation of young, responsible Americans that are dead-set on repaying their student loan debt. They are willing to sacrifice material worth for something that, while less stimulating, is more impactful on both their future and the health of their country's economy," Brown wrote.
"That being said, there is undoubtedly a tinge of pity because the holidays are meant to be worry-free and enjoyed. Debt should not be suffocating a young consumer so much that they must forego life's simple pleasures."