ST. JOSEPH CO. — Generation Y, or people in their 20s and 30s, are more educated than ever. But the median credit card debt of low and middle income people ages 18 to 34 is $8,200, according to an article from MSN Money. And paying off that debt is becoming more difficult.

Financial experts say many people from Generation Y don't know HOW to pay off their student loans and credit card debt.

Rick Hahn and Lauren Kovacs don't know each other, but both are in their 20s, both pay their own bills and both are in debt.

"Around the first of every month when everything's due, I worry," Kovacs said.

Hahn admitted he has a "healthy" student loan bill.

"It can be very overwhelming," he said.

Kovacs said she finds it difficult to make sure she works enough to make enough money in order to pay all her bills.

Both Kovacs and Hahn have a very common problem these days, said Waylon Peterson, Senior Vice President of Investments, Trusts and IRAs at Teachers Credit Union in South Bend.

Peterson said Generation Y needs to do a better job when it comes to money management.

"They have a lot more debt than probably the previous generation when they were in their 20s," he explained.

Peterson's best advice is to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first. If you don't have the money to do that, try consolidating loans. And always put money into retirement and savings accounts.

"If you're 25 years old and you're able to put away $150 [or] $200 a month, that's $5, $6, $7 a day," he said. "It can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars when they're ready to retire."

But both Kovacs — a dental hygienist student at IU-South Bend — and Rick — a recent Notre Dame Architecture School graduate — say it's not that easy.

"You end up having to spend [any extra money] on another book for class, or something for work," Kovacs told WSBT. "I think it's really hard to save right now."

Financial expert Waylon Peterson also said people in their 20s and 30s sometimes make a common mistake when they buy a home. If they choose to pay a 30-year mortgage rather than a 15-year plan, they're paying a significantly higher interest rate over a longer period of time.

If a person is in debt, Peterson said there really isn't a "magic number" or a way to tell if they're in over their head. In fact, that will be different for each person.

Some financial experts actually suggest trying to pay off your debt by yourself first so you're not paying someone else to help you do it.