2016-03-24
Millennials in Debt
All too often, the advice that millennials receive about their financial situations is so simplistic as to be unhelpful. The most commonly parroted themes revolve around making your morning latte yourself, looking for a second (or third!) job and getting a roommate. The truth is, the situations many millennials find themselves in cannot be overcome by simply cutting back on luxuries and living space. The problem often lies in the large amounts of debt millennials are carrying. Despite being one of the most highly educated generations, with nearly 25 percent of people aged 18 to 35 possessing at least a four-year degree, data taken from the U.S. Census shows that this group makes approximately $4,000 less than people who were the same age in the year 2000. Coupled by the fact that millennials graduating in 2015 reported an average of $35,000 in student loans, not to mention the thousands of dollars owed for credit cards and other consumer debt, it’s no surprise that skipping Starbucks isn’t the panacea it’s advertised to be. Millennials need real solutions and an effective strategy that enables them to not only eliminate their debt, but also build for the future.
Assessing and Prioritizing Your Debts
Having a clear picture of your financial situation is one of the most effective steps in solving a debt problem. It’s also the only way to ensure that solutions work, so this evaluation and organization should be your first step.
- Open a spreadsheet, or if you prefer, get a notepad and pencil.
- Go through all of your billing statements and other debt documentation and make note of the balance, interest rate and minimum payment due each month.
- Organize the debts from the highest interest rate to the lowest. You’re going to focus on the one at the top of the list.
- Make the minimum payment on everything except the debt at the top. This one should receive the minimum plus any extra funds you can throw at it every month until it’s paid off.
- Once the balance is zero, move on to the next debt on the list, using the money that would have gone to the previous debt to pay off the following one.
The biggest benefit of this method is that it saves you time and interest, as debts are paid off sooner. And once all your debts are paid off, the money you were putting toward those payments can become your savings and investment fund. You can keep putting the same amount away every month to contribute to your future without adjusting your budget. This is especially helpful to millennials, who have to be extra mindful of balancing their current cost of living with the undeniable need to save for the future. But if you need to free up some cash or want to pay off your debt sooner because of exorbitant finance charges or other fees, there are options for refinancing your debt to gain more control over your finances.
Tangible Solutions
Paying down debt is a priority, but there are other things you can do to assuage your current concerns and help you look optimistically toward the future.
Personal Loans
Getting into debt to get rid of debt sounds counterintuitive, but there is a distinction between good debt vs. bad debt. Using good debt such as low-rate personal loans to pay off bad debt like high-interest credit cards and student loans can save you money and time. While this solution is relatively unexplored by millennials, it's popularity is increasing as a growing number of online lenders begin offering solutions. For millennials, online lending may be a better choice than traditional sources of loan funds such as banks because of the more stringent credit and income qualifications of conventional institutions. Alternative finance companies are providing new solutions for the financial problems faced by the millennial generation. Using these new services, along with some effective technological tools, can help you redirect your future and make steady gains toward financial stability.
Balance Transfers
Shifting your high-interest credit card balances to a card that offers 0 percent interest is an excellent way to jump-start your debt payoff. Balance transfers stop your debt from accruing any new interest, usually for a period of three to 18 months, but you will likely have to pay a balance transfer fee, which can range from $5 to five percent of the balance. Without the added interest, you can pay down your balances faster and save yourself a good amount of money. Interest will kick back in once this period ends, however, so you will either have to pay it off before time is up or transfer the remaining balance to another 0 percent card.
Freezing Cards
While you could literally freeze your credit cards in a block of ice to prevent new charges, card companies are giving consumers the ability to freeze their accounts from authorizing new spending. You can usually do this over the phone or online, and it’s just as simple to unfreeze if you need to use your card again. Some cards have a time limit on this practice, so contact your card issuer to find out how long you can keep your account frozen before it's canceled for non-activity. If the card is canceled, it will appear as a closed account on your credit report, which can lower your credit score.
Digital Tools
There are many apps and websites that can help you take better control of your finances. Mint and other budgeting applications can connect to your bank and credit card accounts to give a comprehensive picture of your spending. You can then create a personalized budget and keep track of how well you’re adhering to it. While paying down high interest debt is vital, it's still important to put some money towards savings and investments. Putting $25 to $50 into both your emergency savings and investments every month can give millennials a better sense of control. You can use apps to make periodic transfers from your checking account into your savings and investment accounts. Digit, for instance, analyzes your spending habits to determine when you can best afford to make transfers of $5 to $50 throughout the week. Apps such as Acorns round up the amounts of your purchases to the nearest dollar and send the change to an investment account. You can even transfer these funds to a robo-advisor service that automates your investing decisions, creating a nest egg effortlessly.
Disclaimer: The material provided on this site is not intended to provide legal, investment, or financial advice or to indicate the suitability of any Even Financial product or service to your unique circumstances. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, you may wish to consult a qualified professional. Any information or statistical data sourced by Even Financial through hyperlinks, from third-party websites, are provided for informational purposes only. While Even Financial finds these sources to be accurate, it does not endorse or guarantee any third-party content.
PROVEN SCALE & TRUST
700B+
in consumer applications for financial services
175M+
consumer profiles generated
9M+
applicants routed monthly
Awards
PRESS
Read all about it!
Even
Even Financial Adds Tally's Low-Interest Line of Credit to its Embedded Finance Marketplace
NEW YORK, NY, March 15, 2022 -- Even Financial ("Even"), the category-leading embedded finance marketplace and independently managed subsidiary of MoneyLion, Inc. (NYSE: ML), has announced a new partnership with Tally, a leading financial automation company, to include the company's low-interest credit offerings on its platform.
"Tally has built a powerful tech-enabled system to help people solve one of the biggest financial problems today: paying off credit card debt," said Phill Rosen, Founder and CEO of Even. "We're thrilled to welcome Tally's line of credit offerings to Even's unparalleled network of financial services providers."
Tally is designed to help its members pay off their debt faster and save them money on interest and late fees. Members can lower their monthly payment with Tally's lower-interest line of credit, if eligible. Typically, at least a 580 FICO score is needed. Tally's system is customized to save people as much money as possible.
"Americans today owe nearly $1 trillion in credit card debt. We know from our research that many want to pay down their debt but struggle to get started. That's where Tally comes in," said Jason Huynh, VP of Credit, Analytics & Operations at Tally. "Our system combines financial automation with a low-interest line of credit to give people the help they need to get on track to pay off their credit card debt for good. We're thrilled that our partnership with Even will allow Tally to help even more people."
The launch of Tally on the Even platform enables consumers to get matched with Tally's custom, low-interest line of credit accounts of up to $25,000 in just a few minutes. After getting matched, eligible consumers complete the process through the Tally app. There are no out-of-pocket costs.
Tally is the latest partner to join the Even marketplace, a growing network of over 400 financial services partners and 500 channel partners covering a breadth of financial services including loans, credit cards, mortgages, savings, and insurance products. Even's marketplace technology enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security, at scale.
About Even Financial
Even digitally connects and matches consumers with real-time, personalized financial product recommendations from banks, insurance carriers, and fintech companies on mobile apps, websites, and other digital touchpoints through its marketplace technology. Even's infrastructure leverages machine learning and advanced data science to solve a significant pain point in financial services customer acquisition, seamlessly bridging financial services providers (such as SoFi) and channel partners (such as TransUnion) via its industry-leading API and embedded finance marketplaces. Even enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security at scale. Even was named one of "America's Best Startup Employers'' by Forbes for 2021 and was named to the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which recognizes the fastest growing tech companies in the world. Learn more at www.evenfinancial.com.
About Tally
Tally is a consumer financial tech company pioneering full-service financial automation to help people save money, pay down their debt and reach their goals sooner. Founded in 2015, the company built the first fully automated debt manager to help put billions of dollars back in people's pockets. In 2021, Tally was named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list and to Quartz's Best Companies for Remote Workers. Previously, Tally made Forbes' Next Billion Dollar Startup list, Forbes' Fintech 50 list, and the app won Real Simple's Smart Money award. Learn more at meettally.com.
Media Contacts
media@evenfinancial.com
press@meettally.com
HAVEN LIFE
Haven Life’s All-Digital Life Insurance Application Experience Launches on Even Financial’s Leading Life Insurance Search Engine
Even features the industry's largest multi-carrier, all-digital life insurance marketplace
New York, New York August 16, 2021Even Financial (Even), the leading search, comparison, and recommendation engine for financial services, has announced the launch of Haven Term and Haven Simple on its life insurance marketplace platform. Leveraging machine learning and advanced data science, Even solves a significant pain point in financial services customer acquisition by seamlessly bridging financial institutions and channel partners via its industry-leading API and embeddable solutions.
With the addition of Haven Term and Haven Simple, Even has further expanded its extensive network of premium life insurance offerings, strengthening its position as the industrys largest multi-carrier, all-digital life insurance marketplace. Haven Life, which offers Haven Term and Haven Simple, and is backed and wholly owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), is known for its customer-centric approach and for its commitment to making life insurance more affordable and accessible. Haven Lifes term life insurance offerings will be available on Even properties and via its wholly owned subsidiary LeapLife.
"In these uncertain times, the majority of U.S. adults want the financial security of high-quality life insurance, but are often dissuaded by the complex application process and need to complete an in-person medical exam", said Phill Rosen, Founder and CEO of Even Financial. "Haven Life's groundbreaking, all-digital application experience brings tremendous accessibility and peace-of-mind to consumers. We're thrilled to welcome them to the Even platform."
The launch of Haven Term and Haven Simple on the Even platform enables consumers to get matched with medically underwritten term life insurance policies that they can apply for and, if approved, purchase instantly online. While most Haven Term applicants will need to take a medical exam, Haven Simple applicants do not. Haven Life's offerings expand the variety of life insurance options already available to consumers through Even's API.
"Haven Life is committed to meeting life insurance customers wherever they are — and often, it's where they are managing the rest of their financial life," said Wade Seward, Head of Distribution Strategy at Haven Life. "On the heels of introducing even more affordable pricing for the Haven Term product, our partnership with Even Financial allows us to marry that affordability with greater accessibility to offer comprehensive financial protection to shared clients with ease and efficiency.
Even entered the life insurance industry in 2020 through its acquisition of LeapLife, a leading insurtech and licenced life insurance agency. Since that acquisition, Even has worked with its large network of channel partners to make the process of getting personalized life insurance fast, easy, and accessible for consumers. In addition to Haven Term and Haven Simple, products offered by leading insurance companies including Lincoln Financial Group, Pacific Life, and Mutual of Omaha are available through LeapLife, Even's life insurance platform. Companies such as TransUnion and Lantern by SoFi rely on Even's embedded finance marketplaces to power 100% digital personalized life insurance policy quotes for their customers, with live agent support.
Even has continued its rapid growth trajectory in 2021 by reaching over $3 billion in consumer credit issued through its API and expanding its platform to over 800 partners. Earlier this year, Even was named one of "America's Best Startup Employers: by Forbes" for 2021 and placed in the Top 50 of the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which recognizes the fastest growing tech companies in the world.
About Even Financial
Founded in 2014, Even Financial is a B2B fintech company that is transforming the way financial institutions find and connect with consumers. As the leading search, comparison, and recommendation engine for financial services, Even seamlessly bridges financial institutions (such as SoFi) and channel partners (such as TransUnion) via its simple yet robust API and embeddable solutions. Even turns any consumer touchpoint into a comprehensive financial services marketplace with full compliance and security at scale. The company is backed by leading financial services firms and VCs, including American Express Ventures, Canaan Partners, Citi Ventures, Fidelity's F-Prime Capital, Greatpoint Ventures, Goldman Sachs, LendingClub, and MassMutual Ventures. Learn more at www.evenfinancial.com.
About Haven Life Insurance Agency
Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC (Haven Life) is re-thinking how people financially protect the ones they love. Haven Life is committed to delivering exceptional products, delightful purchasing experiences, and meaningful moments of service to the modern life insurance customer. Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC21 Haven Term in certain states, including NC) issued by C.M. Life Insurance Company (C.M. Life), Enfield, CT 06082. In New York (DTC-NY), and California (DTC-CA), and other states, it is issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111-0001.
Policy and rider form numbers and features may vary by state and may not be available in all states. Haven Term is available through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC (Haven Life), whose agency license number in California is OK71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527. Both Haven Life and C.M. Life are wholly owned subsidiaries of MassMutual.
Please note that issuing the policy or paying its benefits depends on the applicant's insurability, based on their answers to the health questions in the application, and their truthfulness.
MassMutual and its subsidiaries C.M. Life Insurance Company and MML Bay State Life Insurance Company are rated by A.M. Best Company as A++ (Superior; Top category of 15). The rating is as of June 1, 2021 and is subject to change. MassMutual has received different ratings from other rating agencies.
Media Contact
media@evenfinancial.com