I am not sure if simply referring to it as “five-figure debt” is telling enough. I got through school with a relatively light load of debt. But light as it was, it was still five-figures and significantly more than what my new* car cost. I also lucked out and got my debt at a time when interest rates were amazingly low. All the same, I stayed with the parents for some time and managed to pay it all off extremely early. Still, I could have managed going out on my own shortly after graduation. My problem was just that I couldn’t get a job with a livable wage until two months ago.
I guess, my point is that ”five-figure debt” is only half the story (the other half being interest rate and loan term) on the debt itself. And that alone runs a huge gamut. Anything from $10,000 to $99,999 is five figures. The label just doesn’t do enough for me on that basis alone. It just bugs me.
* New as in “new in my possession, but gently used,” not as in “brand new, 2012 model.”