Friday, July 10, 2015

Big Debt for the Young

One thing that characterizes younger generations these days is the debt they've built up early on in their adult lives. According to a new study from Allianz Life Insurance, Gen Xers reported carrying about 60 percent more mortgage debt than their boomer counterparts (an average of $144,000 versus $90,000 for boomers), and 140 percent more student loan debt (an average of $12,000 versus $5,000 for boomers)

Those are structural issues, but the Gen Xers have also run up 33 percent more credit card debt (an average of $8,000 versus $6,000 for boomers). In part that's because they got started early: According to the study, 76 percent of Gen Xers got their first credit card between the ages of 18 and 24, versus 68 percent of baby boomers.

But there's a shift in attitude as well. One in five Gen Xers surveyed said that going into debt to handle day-to-day purchases is “just a fact of life,” versus only 14 percent of boomers. And nearly half of Gen Xers only pay a portion of their credit card balances each month, compared with 32 percent of boomers.

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