I took out loans for schooling when I was XXXX years old. I was an XXXX and left high school with XXXX credits in collegiate courses. As a studious person, I did all the desired paperwork and classes available to educate myself on the process of financial aid. My parents did not have the money to put me through college but were adamant about me focusing on achieving my XXXX. Financial Aid advisors ( both in my high school and my colleges ) told me ( and my parents ) that " student loans are the easiest loans to take out. Even if you have the money, you should take out student loans, they are simple. If you do n't have a job when you get out of school, you can wait to pay them off. '' I took those " authorities '' at their words. I finished my XXXX degree after being enrolled in XXXX schools with XXXX degrees. I was never instructed that there are differences between federal and private loans. I was never told about the differences in repayment and assumed all student loans were equal. It was logical, all my loans ( except for XXXX ) were coming from XXXX XXXX. Now looking back it is insane to me that we are asking XXXX year old kids, with little to no exposure to even running their own basic budgets, to navigate the complicated intricacies of loans and repayment programs. The market crashed in XX/XX/XXXX, I graduated in XX/XX/XXXX. It took me a very long time to find a career and a job where I could afford to pay my student loans. Needless to say, I left school $ XXXX in debt with XXXX degrees, and could not find a job. I had no idea, but interest was piling up on all the loans I had acquired. I have, since then, found a career where I make a good amount of money. However, it is impossible to get out from under the student loan debt. I have paid XXXX of my loans on auto-debit for XXXX years straight. The original amount of the loan was $ XXXX. I have been paying $ XXXX $ XXXX on auto debit for XXXX years. My principal balance is now {$14000.00}. AFTER XXXX YEARS OF PAYMENT. I am frustrated and overwhelmed. It is not SIMPLE interest, like my home loan, but rather compound interest. I NEVER would have taken out student loans if this was explained to me as an XXXX year old. I had to BUY A HOME, to understand the difference between the types of interest. The concept of simple vs compound interest was never explained to me and as a result, even though my salary is high, I have very little ability to pay off these loans. It is a travesty of the education system that those concepts are not explained to people. Even with the salary I have, I am UNABLE to make the payments and as a result, set up for financial failure. How is this fair? I am trying to get ahead but frankly I have paid more down on my house and car in XXXX years than I have in XXXX years on my student loan. Should n't this stop?