Individual debt levels are climbing in the U.S. Just under half (46%) of the population owes money on their credit cards, 42.7 million have student loans and a further 61.2% of Americans have mortgages, with average balances across all three standing in the region of $300,000. (1) With so much debt hanging over us, it can seem like an impossible task to pay down all the money we owe and save enough for retirement. This is the issue that’s facing Jerome and Alex. The couple still owes $250,000 on their $ ...