I think in every state or almost every state in the U.S., a husband and wife are considered a single economic unit. There is not "her debt" and "my debt", just "our debt".

In any case, suppose that there was some legal principle by which you could say it is not your debt. What then? Unless you intend to divorce her and let her hang out to dry, how would this fact help you? As a family, you still have to deal with the debt. So let's just forget the "not my debt" thinking.

Student loans generally cannot be discharged even by bankruptcy. (If they could, most students have little income and few assets the day they graduate, and so they could just declare bankruptcy immediately and few student loans would ever be repaid.) In any case, you have a moral obligation to repay your debts, even if there might be some way to beat the system. Surely in the end, your character is worth more than your money.

You have a lot of debt, but it doesn't sound impossible to repay at this point. Hard, but a long way from impossible. My income is a little more than yours, not all that much more, and I'm paying $1400 per month toward my kids' college tuition. Is it a struggle? Yes. Is it impossible? Certainly not.

What are your total debt payments? What are your other expenses? Add them up and see where your money is going. As mikeazo says, cut out all non-essentials. When you are deeply in debt, you do NOT need to eat out. You do not need a fancy car. You do not need a new big-screen TV. You do not need the latest designer clothes. Etc.

Look at your recurring expenses. How much are you paying on rent or mortgage? Consider moving to someplace cheaper. (I don't know where you live so I can't say what a reasonable minimum is.) How much are you paying on heating and air conditioning? Maybe you could learn to wear sweaters and turn the thermostat down a few degrees. Etc.

I understand that the average American family makes about $50,000 per year. If you could cut your expenses to just what the average family spends, that would leave you $30,000 per year to pay off debts. (Minus taxes, but than the $50k family pays taxes too.)

Yes, it will seem tough. But if you're an American, odds are that you are living better than about 90% of the people in the world, even if you cut back to what you consider the absolute minimum. I had a period in my life when I had some debts and extraordinary expenses and I was feeling really broke and sorry for myself. And when I got through it and looked back, I realized that through it all, I always had a roof over my head, I had plenty to eat, I had air conditioning and cable TV and Internet access and a car that ran. I had more luxuries than most people in the world dream of. My problem was really that I couldn't afford to buy new toys, but had to be content with the toys I already had. My point being: Just knuckle down, cut expenses, and you can make it. It will seem hard, but if you're making $80k per year, you can do it. There are plenty of people here in America who would gladly take your debt payments if they could also take your income.

I think in every state or almost every state in the U.S., a husband and wife are considered a single economic unit. There is not "her debt" and "my debt", just "our debt".

In any case, suppose that there was some legal principle by which you could say it is not your debt. What then? Unless you intend to divorce her and let her hang out to dry, how would this fact help you? As a family, you still have to deal with the debt. So let's just forget the "not my debt" thinking.

Student loans generally cannot be discharged even by bankruptcy. (If they could, most students have little income and few assets the day they graduate, and so they could just declare bankruptcy immediately and few student loans would ever be repaid.) In any case, you have a moral obligation to repay your debts, even if there might be some way to beat the system. Surely in the end, your character is worth more than your money.

You have a lot of debt, but it doesn't sound impossible to repay at this point. Hard, but a long way from impossible. My income is a little more than yours, not all that much more, and I'm paying $1400 per month toward my kids' college tuition. Is it a struggle? Yes. Is it impossible? Certainly not.

What are your total debt payments? What are your other expenses? Add them up and see where your money is going. As mikeazo says, cut out all non-essentials. When you are deeply in debt, you do NOT need to eat out. You do not need a fancy car. You do not need a new big-screen TV. You do not need the latest designer clothes. Etc.

Look at your recurring expenses. How much are you paying on rent or mortgage? Consider moving to someplace cheaper. (I don't know where you live so I can't say what a reasonable minimum is.) How much are you paying on heating and air conditioning? Maybe you could learn to wear sweaters and turn the thermostat down a few degrees. Etc.

I understand that the average American family makes about $50,000 per year. If you could cut your expenses to just what the average family spends, that would leave you $30,000 per year to pay off debts. (Minus taxes, but than the $50k family pays taxes too.)

Yes, it will seem tough. But if you're an American, odds are that you are living better than about 90% of the people in the world, even if you cut back to what you consider the absolute minimum. I had a period in my life when I had some debts and extraordinary expenses and I was feeling really broke and sorry for myself. And when I got through it and looked back, I realized that through it all, I always had a roof over my head, I had plenty to eat, I had air conditioning and cable TV and Internet access and a car that ran. I had more luxuries than most people in the world dream of. My problem was really that I couldn't afford to buy new toys, but had to be content with the toys I already had. My point being: Just knuckle down, cut expenses, and you can make it. It will seem hard, but if you're making $80k per year, you can do it. There are plenty of people here in America who would gladly take your debt payments if they could also take your income.

I think in every state or almost every state in the U.S., a husband and wife are considered a single economic unit. There is not "her debt" and "my debt", just "our debt".

In any case, suppose that there was some legal principle by which you could say it is not your debt. What then? Unless you intend to divorce her and let her hang out to dry, how would this fact help you? As a family, you still have to deal with the debt. So let's just forget the "not my debt" thinking.

Student loans generally cannot be discharged even by bankruptcy. (If they could, most students have little income and few assets the day they graduate, and so they could just declare bankruptcy immediately and few student loans would ever be repaid.) In any case, you have a moral obligation to repay your debts, even if there might be some way to beat the system. Surely in the end, your character is worth more than your money.

You have a lot of debt, but it doesn't sound impossible to repay at this point. Hard, but a long way from impossible. My income is a little more than yours, not all that much more, and I'm paying $1400 per month toward my kids' college tuition. Is it a struggle? Yes. Is it impossible? Certainly not.

What are your total debt payments? What are your other expenses? Add them up and see where your money is going. As @mikeazo says, cut out all non-essentials. When you are deeply in debt, you do NOT need to eat out. You do not need a fancy car. You do not need a new big-screen TV. You do not need the latest designer clothes. Etc.

Look at your recurring expenses. How much are you paying on rent or mortgage? Consider moving to someplace cheaper. (I don't know where you live so I can't say what a reasonable minimum is.) How much are you paying on heating and air conditioning? Maybe you could learn to wear sweaters and turn the thermostat down a few degrees. Etc.

I understand that the average American family makes about $50,000 per year. If you could cut your expenses to just what the average family spends, that would leave you $30,000 per year to pay off debts. (Minus taxes, but than the $50k family pays taxes too.)

Yes, it will seem tough. But if you're an American, odds are that you are living better than about 90% of the people in the world, even if you cut back to what you consider the absolute minimum. I had a period in my life when I had some debts and extraordinary expenses and I was feeling really broke and sorry for myself. And when I got through it and looked back, I realized that through it all, I always had a roof over my head, I had plenty to eat, I had air conditioning and cable TV and Internet access and a car that ran. I had more luxuries than most people in the world dream of. My problem was really that I couldn't afford to buy new toys, but had to be content with the toys I already had. My point being: Just knuckle down, cut expenses, and you can make it. It will seem hard, but if you're making $80k per year, you can do it. There are plenty of people here in America who would gladly take your debt payments if they could also take your income.

I think in every state or almost every state in the U.S., a husband and wife are considered a single economic unit. There is not "her debt" and "my debt", just "our debt".

In any case, suppose that there was some legal principle by which you could say it is not your debt. What then? Unless you intend to divorce her and let her hang out to dry, how would this fact help you? As a family, you still have to deal with the debt. So let's just forget the "not my debt" thinking.

Student loans generally cannot be discharged even by bankruptcy. (If they could, most students have little income and few assets the day they graduate, and so they could just declare bankruptcy immediately and few student loans would ever be repaid.) In any case, you have a moral obligation to repay your debts, even if there might be some way to beat the system. Surely in the end, your character is worth more than your money.

You have a lot of debt, but it doesn't sound impossible to repay at this point. Hard, but a long way from impossible. My income is a little more than yours, not all that much more, and I'm paying $1400 per month toward my kids' college tuition. Is it a struggle? Yes. Is it impossible? Certainly not.

What are your total debt payments? What are your other expenses? Add them up and see where your money is going. As mikeazo says, cut out all non-essentials. When you are deeply in debt, you do NOT need to eat out. You do not need a fancy car. You do not need a new big-screen TV. You do not need the latest designer clothes. Etc.

Look at your recurring expenses. How much are you paying on rent or mortgage? Consider moving to someplace cheaper. (I don't know where you live so I can't say what a reasonable minimum is.) How much are you paying on heating and air conditioning? Maybe you could learn to wear sweaters and turn the thermostat down a few degrees. Etc.

I understand that the average American family makes about $50,000 per year. If you could cut your expenses to just what the average family spends, that would leave you $30,000 per year to pay off debts. (Minus taxes, but than the $50k family pays taxes too.)

Yes, it will seem tough. But if you're an American, odds are that you are living better than about 90% of the people in the world, even if you cut back to what you consider the absolute minimum. I had a period in my life when I had some debts and extraordinary expenses and I was feeling really broke and sorry for myself. And when I got through it and looked back, I realized that through it all, I always had a roof over my head, I had plenty to eat, I had air conditioning and cable TV and Internet access and a car that ran. I had more luxuries than most people in the world dream of. My problem was really that I couldn't afford to buy new toys, but had to be content with the toys I already had. My point being: Just knuckle down, cut expenses, and you can make it. It will seem hard, but if you're making $80k per year, you can do it. There are plenty of people here in America who would gladly take your debt payments if they could also take your income.