WAUKESHA, Wis. — Nathan Schlawin is a 3D printing engineer at GE Healthcare and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Platteville. Like many, he left college with debt that was harder to manage than expected.
Watch: Wisconsin engineer tackles debt through financial counseling
“I kind of ran up some debt in college. They kind of make it sound like you're going to get this job and knock it all out, and that's just not how it works,” Schlawin said.
With college and credit card debt building, he said he wasn’t in the habit of keeping track of his finances—until he got help from Money Management International (MMI).
“Everyone was very helpful and happy to help me, so it was not a difficult thing to get through,” he said.
Through MMI, Schlawin found a plan that helped him get on track to pay off debt and raise his credit score.
A new report from the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) found that the average American’s credit score has dropped for the second year in a row. Gen Z consumers saw the largest year-over-year decrease of any age group.
“If you're a Gen Z consumer, you probably don't have as rich a credit history. You're probably earlier in your career, so you're probably not making as much, and you're probably dealing with some expenses that older Americans don't have,” said Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator for MMI.
Nitzsche noted that some changes in credit scores are normal, but consistent declines can signal a larger issue.
“When you start to see for a couple of years that it goes down, it can mean that more people are struggling with debt,” he said.
Schlawin says that for anyone facing financial hardship, seeking free financial counseling can make a big difference.
“It's all kind of part of getting on the healthy decision train, tracking your spending, making the decision to get into a debt management program. It all feeds together. And once you're in that, it's kind of a hard habit to break,” he said.
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