The U.S. Debt Clock illustrates our soaring debt by the second. As sobering as it is, it can serve as a springboard into multiple personal finance topics. 

[Post updated on August 15, 2024] 

Credit card debt

Reading a credit card statement, understanding how much you owe, and when you need to pay it off is essential to managing credit card debt. This interactive Credit Card Statement paired with NGPF’s FINE PRINT activities below can help students understand their credit card statements and agreement forms. 

• FINE PRINT: Credit Card Statement
• FINE PRINT: Schumer Box

Student loan debt

How much is college actually going to cost you? How much student loan debt might you have to take on? TuitionTracker’s tool reveals the true cost of college, providing historical price trends, graduation rates, and more. Use NGPF’s accompanying worksheet, INTERACTIVE: How Much Will Your College Actually Cost? 

Auto Loans and Mortgages 

myFICO’s Loan Savings Calculator is an excellent, simple resource to illustrate how much more expensive loans can cost with lower credit scores. Use NGPF’s guided activity, CALCULATE: Impact of Credit Score on Loans to bring the calculator to your students. 

Household debt

Every quarter the Federal Reserve Bank of New York collects data and compiles the Household Debt and Credit Report through three interactive graphs. Use NGPF’s accompanying activity, ANALYZE: Household Debt and Credit Report, to guide students as they analyze the data. 

Debt management

There are several NGPF lessons that tackle how to manage debt and the relationship between debt and wealth: 

• Debt Management 
• Handling Significant Debt
• Debt and Wealth

Check out the Types of Credit and Managing Credit units for more resources!

About the Authors

Brian Page

Making a difference in the lives of students through financial capability is Brian’s greatest passion. He comes to NGPF after fifteen years of public school teaching where he was the ‘11 Ohio Department of Education recipient of a Milken National Educator Award, the CEE Forbes Award winner, and a Money Magazine/CNN "Money Hero". He served on the working group for President Obama's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. He has private school experience as a Trustee for the Cincinnati Country Day School and was a past Ohio Jump$tart President. Brian holds a BBA and M.Ed. When Brian isn’t working alongside his NGPF teammates he is likely spending time with his wife, three children, and dog; hiking, or watching Ohio State football.

Sonia Dalal

Sonia has always been passionate about instruction and improving students' learning experiences. She's come a long way since her days as a first grader, when she would "teach" music and read to her very attentive stuffed animals after school. Since then, she has taught students as a K-12 tutor, worked in several EdTech startups in the Bay Area, and completed her Ed.M in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about bringing the high quality personal finance content and instruction she wished she'd received in school to the next generation of students and educators. When she isn't crafting lesson guides or working with teachers, Sonia loves to spend her time singing, being outdoors, and adventuring with family and friends!