<prompt> Human: My fiancee will have 100,000 in federalprivate loans from law school. Fortunately, I have 0 in loans. That huge loan debt obviously frightens the living shit out of meIm about to finish up my program in a few months and will soon be earning roughly 90,000-100,000 for the first year depending on my production numbers. This number should increase slightly over time just to give you an idea of long-term earning potential. She will not finish up law school until next year so I should have until July 2014 to start making payments, but hopefully she will be earning at least a modest salary though you know how that can go with the oversaturation of lawyersClearly I want to pay off this loan debt as quick as possible due to the interest on it. However, my question was whether or not to pour all funds leftover after taxes and living expenses into paying off this loan debt of hers or to maybe spread it out over a longer time period and put some of my money into Roth IRAs.I just dont know if itd be smarter in the long run to put some small amount into other things like the Roth IRAsemergency fundsbonds while still making substantial payments on the loan or to just pay off the loan debt ASAP by throwing 100 of my extra money at it everything left over after essential expensesAlso, Ive heard that I can refinance these federalprivate loans and consolidate right word? into one payment plan. Is this the best approach? One of her private loans is variable which REALLY worries me!Thanks folks!Assistant: A couple of questions for you before we can really answer your questions:1. What are the interest rates on these loans?2. Are you both comfortable with having debt? Human: What are the interest rates on these loans?The private ones are 5.75 and 6 - some fixed, some variable.Not sure about the federal loans she maxed those before taking private.Are you both comfortable with having debt?If you mean whether I enjoy having the debt bomb sitting over me, noAssistant: If you use your excess money on these private loans, youd be getting a return on your money roughly equal to these interest rates. Guaranteed returns of 5.75-6 is pretty good. If interest rates are something like 2-3, Id be on the fence about investing it or paying debts off, but if you are not comfortable with having the debt bomb sitting over you, then pay that off with what you can contribute. Another thing to consider - prenups. If you are completely ok with sharing the debt load with your partner, then go for it. But if you are concerned about that, you can use a prenup to protect yourself from your partners debts. Im not too familiar with prenups though. EDIT: Be sure to keep some savings and a 3-6 month emergency fund before contributing extra money toward debts. Human: Thanks for those insights. Ill put away my first few paychecks towards that emergency fund first and prioritize that.So it sounds like itd be wiser to pay off those loans due to those interest rates rather than diverting that money towards investments which at best equal the difference and more likely, will not make as much as the growing debt interestFrom my understanding, her debts are solely hers even after marriage, no? Or at least any money I have earned prior to marriage is protected, right?The good thing is that shes a low spendersaver, and I luckily do not have much of an interest in the finer things like nice cars. Ive had the same car for 10 years and will stick with it until it stopsAssistant: her debts are solely hers even after marriage, no? Or at least any money I have earned prior to marriage is protected, right?Pretty much. It varies a little between states. Her debts will definitely stay hers, your money will probably stay yours unless she somehow improves it.If you do get a divorce after you pay down those loans, you would get screwed over a bit. If you saved up and bought a 100,000 house youd get half of it, but if you save up and pay down 100,000 in her student loans then you walk away with nothing.You need to have a discussion about how finances are going to work before you get married. How you want to handle that is really between the two of you. Id pick a way that is unlikely to build resentment and respects the fears of those involved. If you spend 100 of your extra income on paying her loans while she goes to get her nails done, it could get ugly.More important than what to pay down are questions like: How will the budget be determined? Will there be my money and your money or just one pool? How will you track the budget? How will expenses like the mortgage be split? What will the guiding principles of your budget be? What sort of lifestyle do you expect to be living while in debt? After debt but before financial independence? After your lifetime needs have been met?You should really sort these things now to make sure that you dont have incompatible views of money, and you can get unrealistic expectations sorted out. You might expect living in a tiny apartment while paying down debt, she might expect driving a Mercedes once she gets her first job.Human: If you saved up and bought a 100,000 house youd get half of it, but if you save up and pay down 100,000 in her student loans then you walk away with nothing.Yeah, significant difference in how those two situations play out - good info.You need to have a discussion about how finances are going to work before you get married. How you want to handle that is really between the two of you. Id pick a way that is unlikely to build resentment and respects the fears of those involved. If you spend 100 of your extra income on paying her loans while she goes to get her nails done, it could get ugly.I agree. I know that Im simply spoiled that my parents took care of undergrad and grad for me, but I am a little peeved that I have a new 100k when I could come out of school with 0 debt...but I guess every partner comes with something, and hers happened to be something out of her control. I think it may help me psychologically for her to put the majority of her paycheck towards the loans and I take care of all the regular bills and free spending. Of course, at the beginning, itd make sense for me to start paying towards her loans to help reduce the amount were paying. Or hell, if Ive saved a lot, maybe it would make sense for me to make a huge payment towards it. Like you said, important stuff to talk about prior to marriage.Will there be my money and your money or just one pool?Are you married, and if so, do you maintain 2 separate accounts? To this day, my parents maintain 2 separate accounts and always have. I think this is probably a wise decision for many reasons.Im pasting your important questions bullet points into my personal finance word document for later. I do think you raise important questions that MUST be discussed early onYou might expect living in a tiny apartment while paying down debt, she might expect driving a Mercedes once she gets her first job.Fortunately, her parents raised her to be very thrifty, and I doubt that habit will ever go away regardless of the money. She only buys clothes 2 times a year during particular deals and clips coupons like theres no tomorrow. In fact, I think she may have to watch me more than I watch her since I grew up spoiled and with essentially a blank check - though I dont think Im overly wasteful. Thanks for your post. You raised fantastic points  <response>: Ive always been a strong advocate of combining finances completely. This has seen my wife and me through several changes of career where the lead earner swapped places several times. You have to really, really trust your fiancee to do that in your case, obviously. 