Student loan debt

More upper-middle-class families are borrowing for college so their children can attend high-tuition prestige schools.

The Wall Street Journal finds that upper-middle-income households with annual incomes between $94,000 and $200,000 are finding it more expensive to pay for college.

Surprisingly -- or not so surprising -- 40- to 49-year-olds have the most delinquent student loan debt.

Commentator Peter Morici sees a link between what we study and what we owe.

At $1 trillion nationally, student debt surpasses credit card debt and car loans, and it can be a serious drag on the economy.

The amount of outstanding student loan debt in this country has reached $1 trillion. And if you scan the headlines this week, you'll find school after school raising tuition, which will almost certainly send that $1 trillion number up even further.

Are debt collectors working for the Department of Education letting debtors know their rights? Bloomberg's John Hechinger discusses the rights of borrowers.

I'm a 36-year-old single professional in the DFW metroplex that tries to think long-term in my financial planning. I put 12 percent of my around $100,000 salary into my 401(k) with company match. Currently, the retirement fund is valued at about $100,000. I owe about $12,000 on my student loans (4.25 percent fixed interest, originally $80,000) and I have about 27 percent equity in my $180,000 town home. I recently refinanced my home at 4.125 percent for 15 years. My credit card debt is maybe $1,000. After surviving a layoff well (due to a generous severance in the Great Recession), I was scared straight once I started working again. I now have about $15,000 in an emergency fund and next year's bonus will go to this, too. So I have three questions: 1) Do I need 6 months of bills or 6 months of salary after tax? 2) Should I park this in savings? Or is there a better financial instrument? 3) Is the emergency fund a higher priority than nuking the graduate school debt? I appreciate your guidance. Keith, Plano, TX

University budget cuts are driving more students to for-profit colleges, but the debt load there is often higher and future prospects slimmer.