Successful Audiobook Narrator Owes $60K in Student Loans: I’ve Been a Victim for 10 Years of Adulthood

Editor’s note: Kyle Tait, a 35-year-old father of four, shares his student loan story as a part of Erudera’s “Degrees of Debt” series, which delve into how student loan borrowers ended up in debt, efforts to overcome the struggle, triumphs, and more. With a debt of $60,000, Kyle reflects on a journey that began when he was only 18 years old.

“At 18 years old, I couldn’t even track my own budget, let alone understand the effect a 6.6 percent interest rate would have on such a mountain of debt.” This is how Kyle Tait, an audiobook narrator and voice actor, begins his story.

Lack of both financial and moral support led to Kyle ending up in enormous debt. Unemployed and only 18, he sought a $45,000 student loan from the bank with an interest rate of 6.6 percent.

A straight-A student, he enrolled at Georgia Institute of Technology, an in-state school, and received the Hope Scholarship. That grant helped him cover tuition fees. However, all his student loans covered the basic survival amidst high living and food expenses in downtown Atlanta in the 2000s.

“To this day, I can’t believe they let me take out the financial equivalent of a brand new Mustang GT, with no promise of a well-paying job on the other end,” he says.

The original balance of $45,000 accumulated $15,000 in interest over 13 years. Today, he has $60,000 in student loans.

After graduating in Business Management in 2010 - a degree he hasn’t used yet, Kyle worked for six years as a radio announcer for a minor league baseball team, the double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

With his “dream job” as a radio announcer, he barely managed to cover anything. While he was on an income-driven (IDR) repayment plan, the interest increased.

Kyle Tait in his role as a radio announcer (2010).

Marriage, divorce, and a significant loss of net worth followed.

“I got married at 24 years old, bought a house, left baseball in search of greener pastures.,” he says. “I went through a divorce, sold the house and lost most of my net worth in the split, and still was unable to make any progress on paying off my loans--despite an aggressive Dave Ramsey mindset to get out of debt as quickly as possible.”

Despite his disappointment with the student loan system, Kyle acknowledges loans are his responsibility and aims to do his utmost to repay them. “I will pay back every penny with or without forgiveness,” he says.

Last year, President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for millions of borrowers was blocked by the US Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision. The court ruled that the President had no legal authority to cancel the debt.

The plan reached the Supreme Court after facing at least six lawsuits from Republican states and conservative groups accusing Biden of violating his executive powers.

To date, $132 billion in debt relief has been approved for more than 3.6 million borrowers, according to figures.

“In Shackles” 13 Years After Graduation

Kyle graduated 13 years ago. Yet, he still does not enjoy the feeling of being completely debt-free. What relieves him is his job and the good income it provides. That evokes hope in him that he can repay the debt once and for all. Others are not as lucky as I am, says Kyle.

Although Kyle is among the people who intend to pay off all his loans, he is an advocate for forgiveness. He believes no one should be carrying such a burden for so long.

‘So often, I hear the argument from people against student loan forgiveness: “It’s not fair to those who paid off their loans!” Well, I’m one who is going to pay off my loans, and I still support forgiveness,” he says. So many who aren’t as fortunate as me. They’ll never have a salary that will allow them to unlock the chains. They’ll die with student loans tied around their necks.”

However, according to him, forgiveness is not the final address. To him, the need for a substantial change in the education system and the labor market, is urgent.

Kyle went on to say that companies should not be permitted to offer low salaries and require a four-year degree at the same time. At the same time, schools should not be allowed to increase tuition unchecked, considering that the government guarantees loans.

He Starts Over Again at 32

At 32, he started over. Now, at 35, he finally sees the light in the tunnel. But, it took him 17 years to find the dream job that would not pay only peanuts and crackerjacks - literally.

Remarried and a successful audiobook narrator at Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) with more than 250 titles on Audible for about every publisher in the business, he is now making progress on his student debt in 2024.

His wife, Amanda Tait, an interior designer, is his main pillar of support. To help him overcome the financial crisis, she sacrificed giving up on her own business, which, as she explains, gave her a lot of flexibility. Believing Kyle's loans would be paid off faster, she started working for a company.

Kyle Tait and his wife Amanda.

The couple now uses one salary to pay the remaining debt and make investments and the other for living expenses. They stick to a strict budget, keep expenses low, and spend time weekly to discuss their goals and budget.

“I think we experienced a huge mindset shift when we realized every student loan payment we make is a payment towards our net worth,” she says. When we pay $1,000 towards our loans, that’s $1,000 we just unlocked in our home equity. Eventually, when we sell our home, that’s another grand that will go into our pocket rather than Sallie Mae’s,” Amanda says.

Kyle remains hopeful that the loan will be cleared within the next 3 to 5 years so he and Amanda will be on time to save for their children’s education.

Despite things taking a turn for the better, he often worries about how things came to this point and feels the urge to see a change.

“I ask myself why did it have to be this way? Why did they let an 18-year-old, know-nothing kid take out so much money? Why is college so damned expensive, even for a bright straight-A student with a state scholarship paying in-state tuition? It’s predatory. It’s disgusting.”

Kyle emphasized the role of high schools is to educate graduates on the financial implications of their decisions and inform them about any assistance programs, trade schools, scholarships, and other opportunities.

“This system is broken. By the time I finally climb out of it, I will have been a victim for the first two decades of adulthood. Some are enslaved for life. It doesn’t have to be this way,” Kyle concludes, expressing again a desire for change.

In the past three decades, tuition at public four-year colleges increased from $4,160 to $10,740. The amount at private institutions rose from $19,360 to $38,07. The trend has led to the need to take out student loans or seek other financial assistance.

Data indicates the student loan debt has reached $1.6 trillion, including federal and private loans, held collectively by 44 million borrowers. In other words, the average amount owed per borrower is $28,950.

According to the Federal Student Aid website, borrowers owe the following amounts:

• 30.3 million borrowers owe $296.2 billion in Direct Subsidized Loans
• 30.7 million owe $584.9 billion in Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• 1.7 million owe $100.7 billion in Grad PLUS Loans
• 3.7 million owe $111.7 billion in Parent PLUS Loans
• 1.2 million owe $3.7 billion in Perkins Loans
• 10.7 million owe $547.3 billion in Direct Consolidation Loans