The United States of Debt
Nothing spells freedom like 27.45% APR
Forget apple pie. Forget freedom.
Nothing is more American than a good ‘ol hunk of debt.
Debt is stitched into the very fabric of American life, so early and so invisibly that most of us don’t even realize we’re tangled in it until it’s too late — like a fly cheerily buzzing into a spiderweb.
Let’s walk through it.
Welcome to Earth, Baby. Here’s Your Future Debt.
From the second you're born in the U.S., the countdown to your first financial obligation has already started.
As you grow up, you’re not taught how to budget, how to live within your means, or how to build a life based on what you actually have.
No, you’re taught, explicitly and implicitly, that you must borrow early and often.
Because apparently, the fastest way to adulthood is getting a credit card as soon as humanly possible to "build credit."
Parents, bless their hearts, are now signing teenagers up for credit cards in high school. "Be responsible," they say, "Just make the minimum payment!"
(You know, the same minimum payment that traps you in debt for decades while compounding interest silently robs you blind.)
Nobody talks about living modestly. Nobody says, "Hey, maybe don't buy it if you can't afford it."
Instead, we treat credit limits like free money and interest rates like a boring footnote nobody has to read.
The Debt Avalanche: Where It Actually Leads
Once you're old enough to legally make terrible decisions, the avalanche really starts.
Student Loans:
The average student loan debt in the U.S. is about $38,375 per borrower.
Medical Care:
Over the past year, 100 million Americans reported incurring some form of debt from prior medical care, with the average reaching roughly $3,100.
Recent reports showed that Americans borrowed an estimated total of $74 billion in the past 12 months to pay for healthcare for themselves or a household member. A majority of Americans (over 58%) admit that they would be put into debt if faced with a major health event.
Car Loans:
Average auto loan debt stands at $41,500 for new vehicles and $24,500 for used vehicles.
Credit Cards:
Average household credit card debt is around $11,303, with an average interest rate now topping 23%.
Mortgages:
Average mortgage debt per borrower is about $252,505.
But wait…how much do we really pay?
Because debt isn’t just a number. It’s an ecosystem of never-ending payments.
For example:
On a $300,000 mortgage at a 6.875% interest rate over 30 years, you’ll pay an extra $415,000 in interest alone.
Financing a $30,000 car at 6% over 5 years means coughing up around $4,800 just in interest.
Making minimum payments on $6,000 in credit card debt at 23% APR? That'll cost you more than $9,000 and take over 15 years to pay off.
Debt doubles and triples itself while you sleep.
It’s like owning a money-eating gremlin you can’t kill, only feed — indefinitely.
The Hidden Costs: Mental Health and Happiness
Debt isn’t just a number in a spreadsheet.
It seeps into every corner of your life.
Mental Health:
Financial stress is directly linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and even suicide.
Multiple studies have found that people with high levels of debt were, on average, three times more likely to suffer from mental health issues.
Work:
Being shackled to monthly debt payments traps people in jobs they despise.
A 2024 study showed that roughly 40% of American workers reported that their cumulative debt influenced their career decisions.
Retirement:
Here's the kicker.
Over 50% of Americans over the age of 55 have no retirement savings whatsoever.
Why? Because debt and the cost of living squeeze out the ability to save.
People are literally working until they die, or until they can no longer physically stand. Not because they want to, but because they have no choice.
How We Got Here: A System Designed to Keep You Running
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
The system is working exactly as designed.
Debt ensures you keep working.
Debt ensures you keep spending.
Debt ensures you stay obedient.
An indebted citizen is a compliant citizen.
One who can’t afford to strike, to rebel, or to even slow down.
You’ll swipe your card for the Uber Eats order you couldn’t afford because you didn’t have time to cook, because you were too busy working two jobs to make minimum payments on a lifestyle you were told you had to have to be “successful.”
It’s not an accident.
It’s the American business model.
Is There a Way Out?
There is — but it’s brutally hard.
Live radically below your means.
Avoid lifestyle creep even when you start earning more.
Destroy debt like your life depends on it — because it kind of does.
Teach your kids not to worship credit scores, but to worship financial freedom.
Above all: realize that your worth isn’t measured by your car, your house, or your Instagrammable vacations.
Freedom isn’t a yacht.
Freedom is no monthly payments.
Born in debt.
Buried in debt.
Or — if you're lucky and a little bit rebellious — free before the end.