With rising debt in the U.S. and the high prices of housing in Connecticut, many college graduates tell News 12 they are moving back in with their parents in order to save money.

Allison Owisanko never questioned what she wanted to do with her future. The only question was how she was going to pay for it.

"Going to a private university is one of the best things I ever did. I am very grateful for my education experience and what it has brought to me today but for sure it comes with those loans,"Owisanko says.

Owisanko graduated at the start of the pandemic and couldn't find a job at first.

"I had some long-term positions and everything in between and so when I was doing that I moved back home just for the simple fact to save money," she says.

Owisanko has a full-time job now, but it seemed like moving back home after college was the only option she had.

"It's just crazy to move out not only by yourself but to own something by yourself," Owisanko says.

Owisanko isn't alone in heading back to her childhood home before having a place to call her own. After posing the question on News 12 about just how many college grads moved back in with their parents, the response on social media was overwhelming.

Caleb Silver with Investopedia says it's no suprise.

"High prices, tight inventory and high mortgage rates are keeping first time homebuyers away so you're seeing them pushed into the rental market and a lot of younger people move home or stay home who moved home during the pandemic," Silver says.

Owisanko says she is taking the next steps now to find a place of her own recently getting approved from a mortgage lender.

She says she is quickly finding out what she can afford and what's on the market isn't matching up.

Silver says housing inventory in Connecticut remains tight with Litchfield County seeing a 24% decrease in available homes while Hartford County is seeing at 23%.

"I'm at the point now where i know it's time for a little bit of separation now I'm in a place where I am able to do that," she says.