Student loan pause led to higher personal debt: study

Borrowers of some student loans who have had a freeze on payments for over three years will have their bills come due soon, as a result of the recent debt ceiling deal.

The legislation, signed by President Joe Biden, ended the pause on student loan payments first instituted by President Donald Trump. As research shows, this means that borrowers who have had a free pass since March 2020, will have less money to spend on alcohol, drugs and borrowing more money.

Student loan bills will start coming again in September, as first reported by Politico.

That is because many borrowers did not take second jobs, did not get on a written budget and did not capitalize on the opportunity to have three and a half years of interest-free loans. Instead, the poor decision making that led them to take and hold tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt translated into other bad decisions, like borrowing more money, drinking and doing drugs.