My £90,000 student debt is growing faster than I can pay it – I prefer blissful ignorance

A graduate who estimates her student loan debt has risen above £90,000 says she has never checked the balance, and does not plan to.

Tara Russell, who finished university six years ago and now works as a journalist in London, said her student loan has always felt more like an abstract concept than a real debt.

Like many students, she took out the maximum loan available to cover tuition fees and living costs without giving much though to how much she would eventually owe.

But despite now earning enough to begin repayments, Tara says she has deliberately avoided checking the total balance because she does not believe it would change anything, the i reports. 

‘It continues to grow beyond my control’

via Canva

Tara said the reality of student debt only started to feel more concrete once deductions began appearing on her salary last year.

However, she explained that rising interest rates and the structure of the repayment system make debt feel impossible to meaningfully reduce.

“With interest rates three per cent above inflation from the first day of your course, the balance grows quickly, faster than most of us could realistically pay down,” she said.

Calculations suggest she now owes more than £90,000, but Tara said she has intentionally avoided confirming the number.

“By viewing the extra salary deduction as a long-term condition of employment, it feels more manageable,” she explained.

“Besides, what would checking the number actually change?”

She added that because the debt will eventually be written off after around 30 years, she sees little benefit in focusing on the total amount owed.

“It won’t help me pay it off faster, it won’t reduce the interest rate, and it won’t alter the fact that it will disappear regardless,” she said.

“All knowing would do is make the weight of it more tangible.”

‘I don’t regret going to university’

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Despite the size of the debt, Tara said she has no regrets about going to university.

She described her degree as the foundation for the life and career she has now, saying university gave her opportunities she still values years later.

“I studied a subject I loved, made friends for life, lived abroad and found a career that genuinely excites me,” she said.

“Those four years were the foundation to the life I currently lead and love.”

Rather than focusing on student debt, Tara said she prioritises managing more immediate financial pressures, particularly while living in London.

She pointed to rent, transport costs, bills and socialising expenses as more pressing concerns for young people today.

‘Financial anxiety is already a constant background noise’

Tara said she still carefully manages her finances, despite choosing not to engage with her student loan balance directly.

She regularly saves money, looks for deals where possible and budgets around day-to-day expenses, but said the loan sits outside that routine because it does not currently affect what she can realistically afford.

“I’m not ignoring my finances, I am managing them every day,” she said.

“But my student loan sits outside of this day-to-day reality.”

Tara also linked her experience to wider financial anxieties facing young people in the UK, including rising living costs and job insecurity.

“For my generation, financial anxiety is already a constant background noise,” she said.

“With youth unemployment sitting at 16 per cent and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, if there is something that doesn’t need to be turned up louder – I’m content with blissful ignorance.”

For now, she says not knowing the exact figure feels like “the more rational choice.”

Featured image via LinkedIn and Canva