Till Debt Do They Part
NAME: Tiffany (Thompson) Elliot
AGE: 20
GRADE: Junior
MAJOR: History
GRADUATION: unknown
DEBT UPON GRADUATION: $30,000+


I met Tiffany my freshman year of college and we quickly became close friends. It seems like one day we were painting our toe nails and giggling over a gallon of ice cream, and the next, I was watching her walk down the isle – the wedding isle that is.

A couple weeks ago, when most Ohio University students were pulling on their costumes, Tiffany was slipping into a wedding dress. However, this was not Tiffany’s Halloween costume; it was a rite of passage, a giant leap into the rest of her life. She and her new husband Eric aren’t jumping alone though; they have their good friends, debt and loans, to accompany them.

Tiffany has worked most of her short life, sometimes with two or three jobs at a time. This wasn’t enough to keep her at Ohio University. In one year here at school, Tiffany accumulated $14,000 worth in student loan debt. Unlike many students, she took on school expenses all by herself. When she decided that she could no longer afford staying in Athens, she packed up and moved back to her hometown where she began to attend Shawnee State using her own bank account. Aside from school, she paid for her apartment, the utilities, the furnishings, her cell phone bills, car payments and insurance and any other extra expenses to keep her going.

On top of everything else, Tiffany planned and paid for part of her wedding. Her new husband Eric is in the Navy and had been out of the state the entire time she was planning. He was able to come home for 16 days when they got married and is now in California, where Tiffany will be moving in nine short days. Not only will she be carrying the debt with her, but she will be facing it without the comfort of her family or friends. She will be picking up the expenses of shipping stuff out to her new home and Eric is busy setting up house for her arrival.

Tiffany does not have a job waiting for her, but she plans to continue school in California while she looks. The situation looks uncomfortable, but she is confident that things will work out. With her attitude, I know they will make it. Tiffany is excited to be stepping foot out into a new life, but like most newly weds she is nervous about their financial situation. Student loan debt is just another thing to add to their long line of things to worry about.

Eric and Tiffany know that it will be a while before they can say they are comfortable financially, but their positive outlook and willingness to make sacrifices and work hard to stay together will pay off in the end. Tiffany plans to pay off all of her student loans by herself and is looking forward to the day when her debt is paid so she can start a family.

For those of you that may find themselves in a situation similar to Eric and Tiffany, check out tips from an article called “Til debt do us part: financial tips for newly weds” that I found from a publication called Lifestyles Jet.

* The photo was taken by me at a Ohio University football game last fall.