Student-loan debt forces some to delay marriage, children

College graduates are choosing to delay getting married and having children to pay off their massive student-loan debt, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Jodi Romine received $74,000 in student loans to get a degree at Kent State University, a decision that has caused her to delay marriage, children, and a career, according to the article. She now has $900-a-month loan payments, which takes out 60 percent of her paycheck. Her fiancÉ loses 40 percent of his paycheck to student loans. Both work more than 60 hours a week but still can't afford to get married or have children.

"I'm just looking for some way to manage my finances," Romine told the Wall Street Journal.

Total outstanding student-loan debt in the U.S. surpassed $1 trillion in 2011, according to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and it continues to increase as students fall behind on payments. Private student-loan borrowers are falling behind or defaulting on their payments at double the rate prior to the recession, Moody's Investors Service told the Wall Street Journal.

EMAIL: bbullock@desnews.com