We have more debt than any other generation.

Now is a terrible time to be young, said author Anya Kamenetz, who spoke on the pitfalls of student loan and credit card debt Wednesday in the Union Ballroom.

Author of the book Generation Debt and a columnist for the Village Voice, the 25-year-old Kamenetz identifies with the intense pressure the cost of a college education is putting on students in an environment where expenses are steadily rising and debts are reaching dangerous levels.

We have more debt than any other generation, said Kamenetz.

Adjusted for inflation, tuition costs have more than doubled since the mid-1980s, and consequently students are taking out more loans to pay up.

Well over half of students take out loans averaging over $20,000 throughout their college careers to keep afloat financially. With rising tuition costs, many students have to work a job or two as well to pay for school.

This can tack a year or two of additional tuition onto college careers, and students have to pay for stretching it out.

Additionally, graduation rates within six years at four-year universities hover around 56 percent, meaning that many students rack up debt without the reward of a college degree to help them make money in the workplace later on.

To minimize loan debt, Kamenetz emphasized the importance of paying over the minimum whenever possible to avoid interest build up. Paying the minimum often results in spending far more on the interest than the actual loan itself.

Tuition costs are just one part of the problem, however. According to Kamenetz, there are just too many risks for young people in the present economic climate.

People in their 20s and 30s frequently switch jobs and areas of residence, resulting in transitional costs that pile up and max out credit cards. Also, they often go without health insurance and feel like they do not need it.

But when something does happen, it can be catastrophic financially, she said.

Students leave college with an average credit card debt of $2,864 in addition to what they owe for their loans. Kamenetz feels that some students are too liberal with their cards and spend more than they have.

Using credit is convenient, but its not free money, she said.

In spite of the immense expenses facing young people today, saving whatever you can now will be greatly beneficial in the future. Compound interest over a long period of time can turn a small amount of money into a fortune.

Time is far more valuable than the amount of money you put in, said Kamenetz. People wait to get rich before they start saving when it is far more effective to start now.

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