Student debt: Borrowers wonder if they’ll get out of paying thousands of dollars

CHARLOTTE — President Joe Biden wants $10,000 for borrowers forgiven, while other key Democrats want up to $50,000 erased.

Biden would like Congress to pass a bill for $10,000 for him to sign, but his team is seeing if there’s a way for him to do that on his own through an executive action.

The president’s $10,000 plan would knock off about one-third of the debt for the average borrower in the Carolinas. The $50,000 proposal would wipe it away completely for those people.

[Biden says he won’t back $50,000 student loan debt forgiveness plan]

Christy Busbee told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that her son, who took out student loans, went to LSU.

Busbee helped by taking out more student loans for her son through the Parent PLUS loan.

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Busbee said her son graduated about 10 years ago and that she still owes about $20,000.

“I’ll be almost 80 by the time it’s paid off,” she told Stoogenke.

Busbee owns a lawn care business, and she would like to retire at some point.

When it comes to student loan debt, North Carolina is the 7th worst in the country.

South Carolina comes in 5th from the bottom.

The average borrower owes more than $36,000 in the Carolinas.

“Given the fact that I’ll be 80 before it’s paid off, if I continue paying it like I have been, it’d be huge,” Busbee said. “It’s becoming concerning. Let’s just say that. You know, as we all near retirement, we try to reduce our debt as much as possible anyway.”

In the meantime, remember these things:

If you have a federally backed student loan, you don’t have to start paying it off again until Oct. 1.
If you have a private loan, check with your lender.
Not sure which you have? Go to Studentaid.gov or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243.