Some people are so desperate to pay off their student loan debt they would eat a tarantula
In a poll that could have been inspired by Fear Factor, Student Loan Hero, a student loan advice site, and polling service YouGov, asked Americans with student loan debt what extreme actions they would take to pay their debt off faster.
One in nine said they would eat a tarantula.
Note: According to the survey, eating the tarantula wouldn’t even eliminate their student debt completely. It would just decrease it.
Some of the other findings from the survey: About one-third would eat only ramen for a week and one-fourth would go without sleep for two days straight to decrease some of their debt. (Then again, these are college grads we’re talking about, so they probably did that anyway).
The survey findings are arguably silly. And only a very small percentage of the 43 million Americans who have student loan debt were surveyed. But the extremes highlight how serious the burden of student loan debt has become.
Because of their financial obligations surrounding debt, Americans have had to prolong some of their other goals. The survey found that 47 percent of Americans with student loan debt have put off buying a car, about 40 percent have delayed buying a house or apartment, and one-fifth have postponed looking for jobs in their fields of study.
Even though some of those surveyed said they would be willing to go to the extremes to help get rid of their debt, paying off student loans isn’t high on their list of financial priorities. Only 5 percent said paying off their debt was their top financial concern. More than half said paying their rent was their most important financial obligation.
And therein lies the problem. Payments for the debt are just one of many expenses people have. Even if debtors are willing to go to extremes, there aren’t people waiting around with ready-to-be-swallowed, debt-eliminating tarantulas.
The safest bet for those with loans is to make their payments and make them on time. (Eating ramen is optional).
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