Hey guys.

My fiancee has approximately 120,000 dollars in loan debt.  This was between 5 years of pretty expensive undergraduate education and unfortunate significant medical expenses (including invasive surgery).

She got a job in her field (animal sciences), but at the entry-level pay, she wasn't making enough to pay minimum loan payments and also living expenses (such as an apartment and food, etc).  She ended up living with her father who was her closest contact to her new job (and lived out in the boonies).  This was a two-hour drive to work, then after it was a two-hour drive back.  There was a lot of gas money involved, but it still was cheaper than renting an apartment.

She is currently stuck.  She has actually gone back to school to finish a second, related undergraduate degree.  The purpose is two-fold:  In the short-term, it allows her to defer her loans which has allowed her to pay off a couple of the smaller loans.  In the long-term, this creates a better platform for her to approach further education, hopefully resulting in acceptance to a doctoral program.  The idea is that if she gets her PhD, she can approach the same companies she was working for before as a researcher (which is her dream) as opposed to an entry-level caretaker of the animals and lab prep.

I'm at a loss.  I love the girl, but I am terrified of getting into something that I have no control over.  I don't know how to help.  She has generally managed to make minimum payments for about a year now, but it's a constant question... where will the money come from next month?

...What is there for her/me/us to do?  As I see it now, I'm wondering if we even have a prosperous future together... or if we're doomed to live under the weight of her loan debt for the rest of our lives.

I hear horror stories like this one, but success stories seem so circumstantial and never really applicable.  What options do we as individuals even have when we can't find the money to live beyond paying 4 digits worth of loan payments every month?
user
Fiancee has an insurmountable loan debt, but it's not mine,
assistant
Hey guys.

My fiancee has approximately 120,000 dollars in loan debt.  This was between 5 years of pretty expensive undergraduate education and unfortunate significant medical expenses (including invasive surgery).

She got a job in her field (animal sciences), but at the entry-level pay, she wasn't making enough to pay minimum loan payments and also living expenses (such as an apartment and food, etc).  She ended up living with her father who was her closest contact to her new job (and lived out in the boonies).  This was a two-hour drive to work, then after it was a two-hour drive back.  There was a lot of gas money involved, but it still was cheaper than renting an apartment.

She is currently stuck.  She has actually gone back to school to finish a second, related undergraduate degree.  The purpose is two-fold:  In the short-term, it allows her to defer her loans which has allowed her to pay off a couple of the smaller loans.  In the long-term, this creates a better platform for her to approach further education, hopefully resulting in acceptance to a doctoral program.  The idea is that if she gets her PhD, she can approach the same companies she was working for before as a researcher (which is her dream) as opposed to an entry-level caretaker of the animals and lab prep.

I'm at a loss.  I love the girl, but I am terrified of getting into something that I have no control over.  I don't know how to help.  She has generally managed to make minimum payments for about a year now, but it's a constant question... where will the money come from next month?

...What is there for her/me/us to do?  As I see it now, I'm wondering if we even have a prosperous future together... or if we're doomed to live under the weight of her loan debt for the rest of our lives.

I hear horror stories like this one, but success stories seem so circumstantial and never really applicable.  What options do we as individuals even have when we can't find the money to live beyond paying 4 digits worth of loan payments every month?
user
We have 120,000 dollars in loans. We're stuck. How do
assistant