Student loan borrowers are younger, more impulsive and less financially secure than the rest of the U.S., a recent study from UBS found.
As borrowers throughout the country prepare for federal student loan payments to come due for the first time in three years, the investment bank set out to compare how borrowers fare financially with the general population.
In addition to owing loan payments each month — a burden those without student loans don't have — UBS found other common traits and behaviors that could be holding borrowers back from living well, financially.
Compared with the general population, borrowers are more likely to say they "live for today" when it comes to spending, less likely to have a rainy day fund and more likely to carry credit card debt. Additionally, student loan borrowers earn less money on average, are younger and skew slightly female, UBS found.
It can be difficult for young people who don't make a lot of money to get ahead financially. But borrowers can take steps today to put themselves in a better position down the line.
Here are three ways borrowers may be falling behind — and how they can catch up.
Impulsive spending could set you back financially
The majority of student loan borrowers — 62% — follow a similar philosophy when it comes to spending, UBS found: "Live for today because tomorrow is so uncertain." Only 47% of the general population, which includes both borrowers and non-borrowers, said the same.
Spending money on takeout or mindlessly swiping your card for some retail therapy can feel great in the moment. And it can be hard to hold back. "Our brains can only make so many decisions in a day and we have to make so many decisions our brains just naturally start streamlining and either making automatic decisions or not deciding at all," Tara Unverzagt, a certified financial planner and financial therapist, tells CNBC Make It.
Many of her clients struggle with impulse purchases because decision overload leaves them buying pizza for dinner instead of cooking, for example.
So how do you avoid the habit? Unverzagt encourages her clients to make rules for themselves that make spending decisions easier and, in turn, hopefully less impulsive.
"You're going to do what your autopilot says to do," she says. "So set up your autopilot to do the things you want it to do so that when you get to that decision point in a stressful moment, your autopilot takes over and it makes the right decision."
That might look like giving yourself an "allowance" of sorts, such as "I can get takeout twice a month." That way, when you're stressed about what's for dinner, you can more easily decide if takeout fits in your budget or if it's a night you need to cook.
A financial emergency could be especially devastating for student loan borrowers
Struggling to stash money away for an emergency fund isn't a problem unique to student loan borrowers, but borrowers are less likely to have a rainy day fund, and when they do, the balances are typically lower than non-borrowers, UBS found.
The share of all adults who have more than six months' worth of expenses saved — about 34% — is more than double the share of student loan borrowers who say they have as much. Just 14% of borrowers have reached that emergency savings milestone.
Student loan borrowers also have less money to work with, since a portion of their income goes to debt each month.
That said, there are a few ways to get started. Look for other areas in your budget where you can cut back. It doesn't have to be a permanent change. Skipping a streaming service or two for a few months and putting those membership fees in a savings account could give you a start.
You might not be able to save six months' of expenses right away, but you don't need to, either. The average emergency costs Americans about $1,400, according to a LendingClub survey from last year, so aiming to save at least that much could be a more manageable goal.
"Start small so that it's painless," Unverzagt says. "Once you get used to that, you can up it a little bit more. Every six months maybe put an [alert] on your calendar to look at your emergency fund, [and ask yourself] where is it and can I afford to put a little bit more in?"
Credit card debt is adding to the burden
While credit card debt is a problem facing more than just student loan borrowers, those with student debt are more likely to have one or more credit cards and less likely to pay off their balances each month than the general adult population.
Around 42% of U.S. adults say they pay off their credit card balances each month, but that number drops to 31% of student loan borrowers, UBS found.
And borrowers tend to report higher balances — the share of debtors owing $5,000 or more in credit card debt (38%) is notably larger than the share of all adults owing as much (21%).
It's plausible that student loan borrowers may rely on credit more than non-borrowers because of the additional strain their loan payments may put on their finances.
It can be difficult to pay down credit card debt and student debt at the same time. Still, every bit helps.
Prioritizing your highest interest debt first can help maximize your efforts because it will minimize the amount of interest you pay in the long run. That might mean only paying the minimum on your student loans each month while you put any extra cash toward your credit card bill.
Once that's paid off, you can accelerate your student debt payoff by putting what used to go toward your credit card toward your student loans.
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