Twice as many Americans now forced to delay marriage, college, kids

(MarketWatch) Thanks to crushing financial concerns, more Americans are now being forced to put off major life events like going to college, getting married and having kids.

According to a survey released Thursday of 1,010 adults by the American Institute of CPAs, more than half of American adults (51%) say they delayed at least one important life decision — like having kids or retiring — because of financial reasons. This is up from just one in three (31%) who did that in 2007. Despite an improving economy and job market, “the specific life events Americans are delaying for financial reasons have more than doubled from the 2007 survey,” the institute reveals.

This may be thanks to the fact that we’ve learned some hard lessons since the recession, says Ernie Almonte, the chair of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, an organization devoted to helping Americans with financial literacy. “When you peel the onion back, you start to see that what they have experienced — their parents, friends losing their homes or jobs or people in so much debt they file for bankruptcy — stuck with them,” he says. “They have learned from those lessons…people are looking at things now and saying ‘I don’t have enough savings for that’ or ‘I will put it off for a year or two until I’m financially stable.’”

The number of Americans delaying higher education due to financial concerns saw the largest jump since the 2007 survey (from 11% in 2007 to 24% in 2015). This is likely thanks to the skyrocketing costs of college (tuition and fees at public four-year colleges have increased 17% in the past five years, according to The College Board) and other higher education, combined with a fear of being one of the many graduates struggling to get a job amidst record-high levels of student debt, which averages nearly $30,000 per student. Other surveys seem to provide support that people are delaying their higher education: Enrollment in law school has dropped to levels not seen since 1973 http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/law-school-enrollment-falls-to-lowest-level-since-1987/, and some colleges are seeing enrollment declines as well http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/03/04/college-enrollment-trouble-signs/. .........................(more)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twice-as-many-americans-now-forced-to-delay-marriage-college-kids-2015-06-25?link=MW_Nav_NV