American colleges and universities are graduating some of the most technically astute people in our history. The Z generation grew up with technology and have a better understanding of social media than even their older siblings. Unfortunately, it does not mean that they are masters of all subjects. Personal finances can be a nightmare for them. Financial wellness education is essential to surviving in the real world. Learning how to deal with problems is important and the biggest problem these young people face is the college debt they accrued while earning that college degree.
Payment Can Be a Horror Story
Nobody can blame a college student for trying to ignore the mounting costs. A student must get through school and loans are sometimes the only way to pay for the education. What happens too often is that an individual graduates from college and then six months later is hit with a major shock. The final debt figure can be enormous. Many graduates have loan obligations in the tens of thousands of dollars. An unlucky few will have over $100,000 in debt and are looking at payment obligations that will stretch out for decades.
Shock can lead to panic that, in turn, will generate poor decisions with bad consequences. The new college graduate may use forbearance but that only delays the final responsibility and can cause payment problems to develop. Others will try to ignore the debt completely, but that is not a wise decision. A final, and very drastic move has a young person declaring bankruptcy. That can damage credit rating at a time when the individual needs to have good credit status. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services sympathizes with the plight of a recent graduate. We want to help, and a benefit option of our financial wellness plan is assistance in dealing with college debt.
A New Experience with Unique Challenges
College students often live off the debt. The college loans will pay for room and board as well as tuition and books. It isn’t too important to do budgeting. This is why for some recent college graduates the budgeting process is almost impossible.
Countrywide has financial wellness counselors who are located across the nation. These professionals will sit down with a new college alumnus and go over a budget. Income and expense are analyzed, and the counselor will point out where some financial trimming can be made to make money available for debt payments. The process can be a nice surprise as a young person discovers that expenses are controllable and he or she can live well within the paycheck limits.
Anyone who has college debt knows that the various loan programs have different requirements and stipulations. It can be a jungle of paperwork, but Countrywide counselors can cut their way through the verbiage. They will point out to a young employee what is required. The counselors will also indicate how to renegotiate debt.
It is no secret that most creditors only want their money. They are not interested in destroying a young person’s life. The Countrywide counselor can explain certain strategies to persuade a bank or other lending institution to lower interest rates or readjust payment schedules. A new schedule may be longer, but it is better to do this than rely on forbearance. Other ideas on how to better manage college debt will be shared in any conference.
Employers Will Appreciate the Financial Wellness Benefit
Employers can hire some highly talented people, but these same recruits are burdened with debt anxiety. Anything that is going to help will be appreciated by that new person on the work floor.
Countrywide makes financial wellness easy for any organization. Employers may choose what benefit options will be part of the plan. We provide the kind of administration and service that makes us an industry leader.
Recent college graduates want help with their college debt. An organization that assists is promoting loyalty and hard work. Employees will stay longer with an organization that is concerned about individual financial wellness. If you have questions about our benefit, please feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience. We welcome the chance to explain what we can do to help your employees.