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How You Dig Yourself into Debt

  • August 26, 2009

Lifetime of Debt 082609Being deeply in debt is no fun, but a twist on a classic board game is a good way to show how quickly and easily many Americans dig themselves into big financial holes.

The graphic titled “A Life Time of Debt” uses the old “Game of Life” format of squares representing a path through life, only this version is a descent into perpetual debt starting as early as high school, when many take on their first payment plan for a car or other teenage must-have.

The numbers (from a variety of federal and other sources) are eye-opening indeed. The average four-year college student amasses $22,000 in student loans. Want to be a doctor? The average medical school graduate leaves with $113,000 in debt.

The graphic from CreditLoan.com lists the average monthly credit card balance per household in America as more than $10,000. That means the typical American family faces nearly $170 per month in interest alone on their plastic purchases.

The graphic also says the average American will pay more than $600,000 in interest over their lifetime.

The average college grad earns $2.1 million (in 2006 dollars) over a 40-year career, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. That means 28.5 percent of his lifetime earnings go to just paying interest on debt. That figure jumps to nearly 50 percent for those with a high school education.

Editor’s note: CreditLoan.com is in the business of debt refinancing and consolidation, so keep that in mind while playing the “game.”

View a Lifetime of Debt*

*This link goes to VisualEconomic’s Web site. U.S. Global Investors does not endorse any information supplied by this website and is not responsible for any of its content. All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. None of U.S. Global Investors family of funds held any of the securities mentioned in this article as of 6/30/09. 09-579


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