JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new wave of financial hardship is gripping America’s largest adult generation — Millennials — as escalating debt, rising housing costs, and growing reliance on credit cards threaten their financial stability.
Money Management International (MMI), a nonprofit debt counseling agency, recently unveiled alarming new data on the scale of the problem.
Millennials, defined as those born between 1981 and 1996, now make up 43% of all new debt counseling clients at MMI.
“Which is just a really staggering number that it’s, you know, nearly half of folks that are reaching out for help right now are from that generation,” said Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator and the vice president of public relations at MMI.
Renters are hit hardest, and Millennials have the highest auto loan balances of any generation, often exceeding $28,000. The financial strain is even more severe in high-cost states like Florida, where surging housing costs and consumer debt are squeezing budgets. Florida saw a 41% increase in new Millennial clients last year.
“I think it’s really telling on a number of fronts, but first being that Millennials are facing a number of unique financial challenges right now,” Nitzsche said. “Interest rates are high. The cost of housing, especially in places like here in Florida, is very high.”
The average Millennial client at MMI carries nearly $30,000 in unsecured debt, which includes credit cards, personal loans, and retail cards. Nitzsche explained this is separate from other financial burdens Millennials face, such as student loan debt, rent, and family expenses.
More consumers in their 30s are reaching out for financial help. Nitzsche said this is unusual as it takes time to accumulate unsecured debt, and the typical MMI client is often in their 40s and 50s.
“So that’s a lot when you think about this generation probably is also still paying on student loan debt,” Nitzsche said. “They probably are also paying on a mortgage or rent, obviously, and they may have other family expenses. This is just their unsecured debt, and as interest rates have increased, it’s made it more and more difficult to keep up with those minimum payments.”
Maria Asencio of Jacksonville is one of MMI’s clients. She said she struggled to pay off $17,000 in credit card debt, which was exacerbated by interest rates nearing 30%.
“It was just difficult to keep up with all the expenses. I was married. We had dual income, and even then, it was really hard to keep up with rent and food or car insurance. It was crazy. So our credit card balances just kept increasing, increasing,” Asencio said.
Debt counselors were able to negotiate with her creditors, reducing rates to as low as 3%. Ascencio has now paid off 80% of her debt with the help of a debt management plan.
“I think that life is more expensive now than it was maybe 10 years ago,” she said. “The cost of living, like renting a place for only one person, is almost impossible in most states or at least in big cities. You can’t even think of it. So, like in my case, two people were living in a one-bedroom apartment, and it was still impossible to cover everything.”
Nearly half of Millennial clients at MMI cite credit card use as the cause of their financial hardships. Debt counseling is free, and Nitzsche said help is available for those who need it.
“Don’t be convinced by a sale that you need it. Don’t be convinced by rewards or points that you need to keep swiping,” Nitzsche said. “It might be time to sort of pause the swiping, not add anything new to the card. Really focus on paying it down. Try to get to a point where you’re paying everything out of pocket for a while until that debt is paid off, and then obviously, swipe away to earn those rewards, right? But make sure you’re paying that account off every month, so that you’re not losing money and interest.”
For more information on debt counseling, click here.
