A mini research poll

My cousin Virginia, who lives in New Orleans, conducted a mini research poll among her friends, and the results are very interesting:

"I’m no statistics expert," Virginia wrote to me in an email, "but I have an MBA in finance and an excellent memory. I have polled my 10 best friends (a combination of guys and girls) to establish this information.  It seems that on the average (at least in my friends) only 2 people paid their balance on their credit cards off in full at the end of the month.  Three people have car loans with the balance exceeding $10,000, and all but 1 had student loans with a balance of greater than $7,000.

"In more extreme instances, one of my friends is in law school and cannot work since she studies full time. At the end of her... 3-year studies, she will owe $150,000 in student loans, but has no other debt.  I have another friend who is studying to become a dentist.  He ended up retaking one year of school, and [when he graduates] he will owe about $250,000 in student loans.

"The more I tell people about your blog the more willing they are to share a personal story of debt with me.  One of my good girl friends who used to be a shopaholic, confessed that when she finally paid off her multiple credit cards, she cut them up and only uses checks and cash to pay for everything except for gasoline, which she puts on her credit card.

"An older co-worker of mine told me that his son had to put off his wedding for 2 years when his fiance confessed that she had $25,000 in credit card debt.  They moved from a nice 2 bedroom apartment in Boston to a small town in New York with her parents.  They pay a nominal fee to rent from her parents and both are currently working to pay off all her debt before the wedding they have planned for next spring.

I try not to compare myself to others, but some times it is nice to know that you are not alone in your quest to become debt free."

Thanks Virginia! It is nice to know we are not alone :)