I think the most important piece of information to come out of this article is "More than a fifth of borrowers of federal student loans go into default, but people who default tend not to announce their status publicly."
This, to me, seems extremely high. Does anyone know what the default rate is on other types of loans?
I agree with mikeash, and wanted to just add my own personal experience.
Most people I know, and what I also do personally, is buy a used car for less than $10k, and pay it off within 3 years. Then you live with it until it no longer becomes economically viable to keep it.
So my wife and I own our cars at this point, which frees $400+ a month we can put towards something else with the understanding in 2-3 years we will need to budget for cars again.
The basic cycle is 3 years of car debt, 3 years without.
(I don't live in an area which has public transportation)
This, to me, seems extremely high. Does anyone know what the default rate is on other types of loans?