If my life partner was paying off $70K (which at avg 4.9% on a 20yr plan will incur a monthly pmt of $458.11 with a whopping $285.83 going towards interest) and I refused to help, I don’t know if I could look myself in the mirror.

You either love all of her or you don’t deserve her.

As for the topic at hand, I agree that the couple should buy a cheap-ass car and get married in Reno. Saving up for two years to buy a car and pay for an extravagant wedding while simultaneously paying roughly $7000 in INTEREST to the debt is just nutso.

That unbelievable debt should be their highest priority.

AS well,weddings can be meaningful (in fact I’d say more meaningful) when they aren’t big, showy extravagant affairs.

Wait a couple of years and see what happens. But in the meantime make sure to cherish one another.

Also my SL rate is insanely low – like 2.5%. No way I am paying this off any sooner than I have to. It helps that it doesn’t hurt my cashflow (only $150 a month). I have extra – but it is going to savings at 5%.

As to the wedding – figure out what is really important, and allow spending on this – but scrimp on everything else. My wife wanted a nice dress. She spent $2k on it. Her neighbor made candies for the reception, the other neighbor some apps. She had a culinary student make the cake for the cost of materials. My uncle took photos for the cost of film and developing, and we bought a new lens for his camera. We had the reception at my wife’s home (nice home with gorgeous bacyard adjoining a green space). Flowers were not from a florist.

1. Depending on your financial picture, and that of your parents, you could get financial aid, or no financial aid. It all depends on a form called the FAFSA. If you get financial aid, most of the places you apply for college will determine how much you can AFFORD to pay using the same yardstick. As a result, whether you apply to State University or Harvard, chances are you will be paying roughly the same amount out of your pocket up front. If you are accepted to three colleges, and they offer different kinds of financial packages, one of the colleges might offer more loans, and another more grants. This is where the more affordable school will stand out from the others. It is NOT automatically the state college.

Bear in mind that for many students, part of the aid package includes student work study. The poster who suggested that students work during college is correct if the student isn’t already working as part of a financial aid package. But if the student already works as part of the aid package, working extra may not be allowed. (Summer being an exception.) Some schools (law school being an example) have such rigorous programs that none of the students is allowed to have a part-time job during the first year!

2. Four-year public colleges often are so full that it is difficult for students to get all their required courswork done in four years. The required courses aren’t available when the student needs them. That costs a lot of extra money, and often the student finds that financial aid runs out after four years. Which school is more expensive now, the public or the private??

3. Community colleges are GREAT, but they are not for everybody. Until recently, our local community college offered the basics across the curriculum, but the credits didn’t necessarily transfer to the four-year college. Going the private college route instead of local community college is not being irresponsible.

4. As Woody wrote above, all things being equal, but given that the world doles out the rewards differently depending on where your degree came from, $$ spent at State College for a degree is cheaper only in the very short term than the $$$$ you spend at Harvard, if Harvard will have you. But even Harvard has its drawbacks, and for that reason I recommend visiting the colleges you think look good on paper. It can make a big difference in your life.

5. Historically, a college education has NOT been a jobs program. Only the wealthy could afford college, and it was an education within the liberal arts. Professional schools and specialized majors were added later. To equate college strictly with job training misses the main point of higher education: To have a broad understanding of the world, culture If you think only in terms of money, a liberal arts degree is probably not a good bet anymore. However, a liberal arts degree does make a person well rounded, and generally trainable for whatever is needed as world economics and technology evolve.

6. Finally this is a money blog, but it is more than that: Trent calls this “The SIMPLE Dollar.” There is a philosophy behind his attitude towards money: it is a tool for right living in the world. A “universal” degree prepares a person for living this way: understanding how the world works and how one fits into the world without wasting resources, taking more than one’s share, or otherwise imposing on others in a finite environment.

On the OT discussion, yes, a college degree CAN cost a ton. I graduated from RIT, a tech school in upstate NY, in 96 and walked out with $50K in debt. I got a great career going, and had it all paid off in about 7 years. You CAN get a degree for less than that if you have good local community or state colleges, but not every area has them. And if you’re going into a tech field, going to a college known for that field can boost you right out of the gate when you graduate.

Can you make a bad decision, like going to tech school for a liberal arts degree, sure. But make no mistakes, getting a degree from a larger name college comes with a larger name price tag. And if you’re in an employment line with two other candidates, and one of the three has a big-name degree, odds are that one’s getting the job.

Give the girlfriend a break, you make those decisions when you are about 18 years old! And loan money doesn’t seem completely real until you have to pay it back!

In the case posted above, it sounds like she is not going to receive any return on that investment.

The responsible thing for her to do would be to say to Ken “I am responsible for my debt so I will work to pay it off (or down to a reasonable level) before we get married no matter how long it takes.”

I don’t see that happening. That is why I say she is irresponsible.

Ken should think seriously about why his girlfriend hasn’t proposed that option.

She should pay off her debt now and worry about marriage later. It is not Ken’s responsibility.

Ignore the troglodytes like Matt. (And yes, Matt, that’s an insult.)

Kudos to you for at least thinking in advance, before jumping into a situation that has a potential for disaster. There are some good, rational points made above.

The one thing I wanted to chime in with was that you guys, regardless of the path you decide is best, need to make sure your finance discussions are constant and open, especially with this much money at stake.

As someone who also took a financial hit for a girlfriend, (thought not nearly what you are talking about) I found myself getting resentful and bitter about the money, when if I had just been upfront, a lot of drama could have been avoided.

Good luck!

If my life partner was paying off $70K (which at avg 4.9% on a 20yr plan will incur a monthly pmt of $458.11 with a whopping $285.83 going towards interest) and I refused to help, I don’t know if I could look myself in the mirror.

You either love all of her or you don’t deserve her.

As for the topic at hand, I agree that the couple should buy a cheap-ass car and get married in Reno. Saving up for two years to buy a car and pay for an extravagant wedding while simultaneously paying roughly $7000 in INTEREST to the debt is just nutso.

That unbelievable debt should be their highest priority.

Music majors are dedicated and passionate about their work. Anyone with a music degree doesn’t have to prove their ability to work hard.

Also, as student loans go these days, $60,000 is not horrible–tuition alone for a private college is over $30,000 per year. If your parents don’t have the money to pay for your college loans, $60,000 is normal. Add in the car, which almost anyone needs after college unless they live in a big city with excellent public transportation, and this is the normal situation for most of today’s college graduates.

Ken does not have dollar signs in his eyes. He is in love with someone who is likely to give him much happiness. He has asked practical questions, and I hope he takes the advice of everyone who has taken the time to post, except for those who counsel dumping a girlfriend with a good education.

For inquiring minds: My daughter got a degree in English. She immediately found it won’t pay the bills, and so she went back to school. The college she attended is a good name and opened the door to grad school in her field of choice, which is in the hard sciences. A degree in music is no more of a dead end.

I’ve said enough on this post, but I am really rooting for Ken and his lady love!

And just to play devil’s advocate, musicians in symphony orchestras can be paid tons of dough, which would totally justify a $60,000 school loan. But I have no idea how easy those jobs are to come by.

“of course she needs a car when she graduates” – This indicates to me that she is very materialistic and selfish. I would not marry a woman like that.

I recommend he find a girlfriend without much debt who takes more responsibility for her life.

Sometimes the solution isn’t just about money.