Debt can happen to anyone, but shame and silence around money can make it difficult to address.
For Jasmine Quezada, a Temple University graduate student from Berks County, the path out began with asking for help.
As Quezada now considers pursuing her graduate degree, she is still paying down debt that began shortly after college.
“I kind of underestimated how fast you can build debt,” she said.
After graduating from Temple, Quezada moved to California and opened her first credit cards. Living on her own for the first time, she said low introductory rates and rewards made spending feel manageable at first.
“It kind of just gets you off guard,” she said. “You get into the autopilot of just using the credit card.”
Her debt eventually grew…