Woman on TikTok Recounts How She Got into $71K in Credit Card Debt

Student loans will be the death of TikTok user @socialbrit, she said in a recent video, and she's not alone in feeling this way.

The woman, a 27-year-old named Brittany Hotte, is currently in $71,000 in credit card debt after four years of college tuition, reflecting a larger problem many Millennials and Gen Z face as they seek out higher education.

With the average credit card interest rate set at around 28 percent in 2023, many Americans are dealing with debts they might never actually be able to pay off.

The average household credit card balance was $10,170, while student loan debt topped $1.76 trillion.

Hotte is responsible for four credit card debt loads, including a Discover loan of more than $8,000 with an 11.99 interest rate and three other cards with amounts in the hundreds.

Read more: How Does Credit Card Interest Work?

The student loan debt is more killer for the 27-year-old, though, as she owes nearly $46,000 in her name with interest rates of up to 4.6 percent. The Parent Plus loan she's also paying for is a whopping $16,300.

While Hotte doesn't regret going to college, her career choice has made it even more difficult to pay any of the loans off.

"I didn't really know what I wanted to do as a career, but I wanted to still go to college and so I went to a four-year university," Hotte told Newsweek.

While Hotte only lived on campus the first year, she saw her bills skyrocket. And because of her choice of major, sociology, she found the career prospects were limited after graduation.

"I feel like that is a common issue with a lot of people in my generation and younger that are going through college right now is it so hard to find a job after college," Hotte said. "We are all in a lot of student loan debt that it's making our overall debt situations so much worse."

Hotte said without being able to find a well-paying job in her field, it will likely take her the rest of her life to pay off student loan debt.

"That's just something I've had to come to terms with," Hotte said.

With the already burdensome student loan debt in her name, Hotte saw her reliance on credit cards deepen in her younger years, and it feels impossible to pay off.

Even today, it can be a necessity to put her living expenses on credit cards, becoming a larger financial problem for her future self.

Month to month, Hotte still struggles to make ends meet. Including her loan payments, Hotte has to pay $1017 for her living expenses. And she brings in just $1,400 to cover it all, meaning there's very little room for any unexpected expenses or savings.

"After being in so much student loan debt, credit card debt just kind of snowballed into that," Hotte said. "Because of low-paying jobs and the cost of living right now is so expensive, it's almost impossible for me to pay my bills every month and then have even a tiny bit of money left over for everyday spending."

Today, Hotte said Americans need an appropriate increase of wages to reflect the current cost of living. Inflation across all goods has remained at 3.7 percent, and many struggle to pay for even basic essentials like groceries and housing.

"My priority is paying off my credit card debt, but my student loan debt is just on the back burner because of how much it is," Hotte said. "It's going to take my whole life to pay it off, so I don't really see an end to it unless I'm able to find a higher-paying job."

No Money In Savings

As Hotte shows, depleted savings accounts can also be a major issue for those dealing with debt, according to student loan expert Michael Lux, who runs Student Loan Sherpa.

Student loan payments were temporarily suspended due to hardships experienced throughout the pandemic, but they are coming back for many graduates with a vengeance.

"Student loan repayment started last month, and for many borrowers, it was their first time making payments," Lux said. "For borrowers living on a tight budget, adding even a small student loan payment is a tremendous hardship."

Millennials and Gen Z have been more likely to fall victim to high credit card and student loan debt, which could in turn lead to greater fin

"The effects of credit card debt can lead to a cycle of financial strain, high-interest payments, and limited ability to save for the future," Robin Snell, the owner and chief of planning at Nested Financial, told Newsweek.

This also can delay homeownership and retirement savings, painting a far bleaker reality for Millennials and Gen Z compared to their parents.

For those already struggling with credit card or student loan debt, a solidly formed plan is essential, according to Snell.

"Creating a structured repayment plan is essential. Prioritizing high-interest debts, negotiating with lenders for more favorable terms, and exploring debt consolidation options are strategies that can help individuals regain control over their finances," Snell said.

When it comes to preventing the debt burden for future Americans, financial education is key – as is considering the employment opportunities of your degree down the line, financial experts say.

"To deal with these debts, Americans are going to have to drastically curtail spending, consider finding additional income or possibly multiple sources of income, second and third jobs and do everything possible to pay down their debt," Andrew Powers, a registered investment advisor in Illinois, told Newsweek.

"For students entering college and just beginning the student loan process, they should really consider the employment opportunities in their major and if their future salary can pay for their education."

Of those with student loan debt, 22 percent believe they will not be able to pay their debt off this year, according to Finder's student loan data. And women, at 32 percent, were far more likely than men, at 13 percent, to say the payments were unaffordable.

"If you're not disciplined in how you manage your money, debt is simply going to pile up," Edward Nisanov, the CEO of Nisanov Tax Group, told Newsweek. "This is because people live way beyond their means and society enables this behavior."

"People may not realize that they end up paying interest on the interest from a prior month. That is lunacy... You are the one that's ultimately responsible for paying this debt back."