Going to college in 1980s, doing some work here and there, borrowed $5K of student loans but after graduating I only had to pay off that 5K (it seemed like it took forever). I also remembered how difficult it was to get a credit card which was frustrating but looking back it prevented me from going crazy with spending.
To get a credit card you need a credit history. Credit history is data on TRW showing your credit card history. How in the hell do you get that? I remember graduating but banks would not give me a credit card because I'm not on the TRW database. OK maybe some of you are laughing at me because I didn't know how to game the system but I knew many others in my situation. One friend said I should begin buying a mattress as they give credit to anyone. Then after two years pay it off and hope that payment history is in the TRW database (yes, very common then but they've become unknown history like Soviet Union).
Eventually after two years after moving and transferring my bank account, they asked if I had a credit card which I said no because I'm not on TRW (and I never got around to buying a mattress). Lady said my employment history is good and if my application is denied then I should then see her and she will make sure it gets approved.
Fast forward to 1990s and things sure changed a lot. Tons and tons of easy credit card applications flood mailbox. I had some debt as I had to borrow money to pay for a car I smashed into. I ask the bank guy, "why do they keep sending this stuff to me when I'm already in debt?" He ran some numbers and said I can easily borrow $80K on a simple signature loan (damn, with interest I will be an old man before I pay that off). And also fees for colleges skyrocketed especially for those with 4-year degrees wanting to attend classes to keep up with technology or simply needed new skills to get a new job (many lied on their applications to avoid paying huge fees).
Continuing on with my gripe (spoiler: not much about student loans), also in 1990s it became much more easy to get mortgage loans. Before you had to have a good down payment and a sufficient salary as loan offices do calculations knowing you will need to spend significant amount on general expenses. I remember struggling to get a condo but sometimes meet people that were able to game the system and borrow a lot more than what they qualified for a house (i.e. they earn $2K a month and mortgage payments are $2.2K per month). Somehow they were able to move money around with various investments and eventually be able to pay off the house in 10 years. I see these kind of people really smart on how to do stuff like this. But later when banks made it easy for others to do this, that is when many got into trouble because they did not have the smarts to handle this type of financing. I certainly don't and I remember in late 1990s a friend said I should meet this mortgage broker that can do a really nice refinancing giving lots of extra money to buy a house. After he ran the numbers, I saw I only had about $150 take home per month that had to cover everything else besides the mortgage payment. Good thing I chickened out and not become one of the masses dumped on the streets after dot com bust.
Oh, yes I did get a mattress when I got a credit card.