GoFundMe has become a go-to place to raise money for charity, or to give financial aid to a friend, relative or even a complete stranger. A year ago, many people turned to it to help pay for groceries and baby formula because of high inflation. But now, the crowdfunding site is seeing a spike in users trying to collect cash to help pay off their student loans. In fact, GoFundMe accounts dedicated to fundraising for student-loan debt spiked 40% in October 2023 compared with the previous year, the platform recently revealed. And this jump in student aid-related fundraisers has coincided with the COVID-era federal student-loan payment pause that ended in October.
Interest began accruing on these loans again Sept. 1, after more than three years on pause, and payments resumed in October. So amid the restart, many of the more than 44 million student loan borrowers owing over $1.7 trillion are looking for help in lessening their debt load. The average U.S. student-loan borrower is carrying about $37,000 in federal loans. Among them is April Faith, a 30 year-old truck driver living in Chicago, who owes nearly four times that amount. So she turned to GoFundMe to help pay off some of her $150,000 in student loan debt from earning an undergraduate degree in fashion, as well as getting a coding boot camp certification. “My entire career-life, I have been focused on paying off these student loans,” Faith told MarketWatch. She is one of the hundreds of GoFundMe users who have created accounts dedicated to getting help to pay some of their student debt. Faith launched …
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Interest began accruing on these loans again Sept. 1, after more than three years on pause, and payments resumed in October. So amid the restart, many of the more than 44 million student loan borrowers owing over $1.7 trillion are looking for help in lessening their debt load. The average U.S. student-loan borrower is carrying about $37,000 in federal loans. Among them is April Faith, a 30 year-old truck driver living in Chicago, who owes nearly four times that amount. So she turned to GoFundMe to help pay off some of her $150,000 in student loan debt from earning an undergraduate degree in fashion, as well as getting a coding boot camp certification. “My entire career-life, I have been focused on paying off these student loans,” Faith told MarketWatch. She is one of the hundreds of GoFundMe users who have created accounts dedicated to getting help to pay some of their student debt. Faith launched …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]