College Students in Debt Find a Friend in MTV

Growing up as part of the MTV generation, I always thought of MTV as a source of entertainment that had an anti-establishment edge.  The videos they showed always seemed to push the envelope and were, in my mind, a good commentary on some of the latest trends in the youth culture. 

Now MTV is using their clout with the younger crowd to help start a discussion about fiscal responsibility.  Not very racy or controversial but definitely an important topic for college students. 

With a tagline of “We’re broke, let’s fix it”; they’ve launched a website for college students called Indebted. The partnership with the Peter G. Peterson Foundation has a goal to:

“raise awareness about the dangers of excessive personal and government debt, and to promote action to help stop the fiscal crisis in the U.S.”

How will they get college student’s attention?  Here are some of the dire facts they list on the home page:

• College students today have to spend more than double what the previous generation spent on tuition – and tuition costs keep going up.
• 15 years ago, half of college students graduated with student loans – now two-thirds of them do, with the average student loan debt being around $20,000.
• On top of individual debts, every American is carrying a burden of about $184,000 in government debt and unfunded obligations.
• Tax rates will have to more than double in our lifetimes for our country to get by.
• With increasing government and personal debt, young people today are set to be the first generation that won’t enjoy the same growth in standard of living as their parents.

I’m glad MTV is trying help to educate college students about debt and financial responsibility.  It may not be much help for the college senior who’s 50K in debt, but it could certainly help the incoming freshmen.

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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