In 2018, 65% of college graduates left school with student debt. Among the class of 2018, the average debt was $29,200, according to NerdWallet.
Factor in interest rates, and that amount of debt can be crippling. The widespread student debt crisis has become a routine talking point from statehouses to the campaign trail.
But in lieu of any sort of policy-oriented solution, a pair of Georgia State University graduates set out to try to help people who are pinching pennies.
Christian Zimmerman and Nate Washington created the app Qoins as a way to allow users to put spare change toward student loan debt.
Here’s how it works: Say you make a purchase for $3.50. The app will round the purchase up to $4 and put the difference toward your debt.
There are similar apps on the market to help people budget and save, but the duo behind Qoins said they wanted to help specifically address student loan debt after experiencing it themselves.
"I know the headache and stress credit card and student loans can have on someone. Our mission is to help alleviate that stress and continue helping people pay off their debts faster than ever," Zimmerman previously said in a statement.
Currently, more than $1.5 trillion is owed in federal student loans.
Since launching their app in 2017, the founders say they have had more than 60,000 people use their product.
They say their users have collectively paid off more than $4.5 million in debt, and tout an ability to shave two to seven years off users' repayment period.
"A lot of people would argue that, 'Oh I can just make monthly payments on my own, but most people don't so we try to build that habit so you can start to see the impact that you can make by making little changes," Zimmerman told 11Alive.
The app’s founders also say their product allows college students and graduates to speak to financial advisers about repayment options.
Using Qoins comes with a fee of $1.99 whenever the company sends out a monthly payment to a lender for users.
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