1 in 5 Millennials in Debt Likely to Die Without Ever Paying it Off

The average person aged 18 to 34 had about $32,000 in debt last year — not including mortgages.

Millennial debt
Millennials believe they're going to die with their debt still intact. (Getty Images)
Getty Images

Just over 60% of U.S. millennials don’t know when they’ll ever be able to climb out from underneath their debt and, according to a new report, many likely won’t.

About 20% of that group — those aged 18 to 34 — who have debt attached to their names expect to die with it, according to the CreditCards.com study, CNBC reported.

However, a large group of these younger adults, nearly 80% of them, say they have a plan to wipe out their credit card debt and, on average, expect to be free of it by the time they’re 43-years-old.

But this is unrealistic for many others.

One way to begin to tackle a seemingly insurmountable pile of debt is by coming up with a concrete plan, CNBC advises. Set a reachable target date to be done with it, find a debt counselor who can advise you, allocate a set percentage of each paycheck for your debt and educate yourself about the kinds of debt you have and any consolidation options.

“When your paycheck gets deposited, move money automatically from your checking account into a separate money market account or a separate savings account that you won’t touch,” co-founder of AE Wealth Management, David Bach, told the news site. “You literally want to almost forget it’s there.”

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