<prompt> Human: Hello PersonalFinance and Reddit,I lurked this site for many years, I now finally decide to reach out to the community. English isnt my native so please bear with me. Im a recent Masters grad from a UK university, I come from south east Asia. I have a sister 6 years older whos the breadwinner now working as a consultant. Both my parents are retired in their 60s. Now that I graduated, I am looking for a job back home. Very recently, I learned from family meeting that my parents loaned close to half a million from close friends to support the family. My sister and I were able to attend American universities because of their commitment to our higher education. While my sister and I fully appreciate our parents effort, I cannot digest even the thought of this gigantous sum of debt just few months after graduation.Never was I told about the debt, maybe its was a welcome to the real world moment for me. I dont know how to feel right now. Can I call myself a middle class if my parents loaned their way to retirement? How is it ever possible for my retired parents to pay off the sum. For me, why even consider raising a family when the cost is innumerable debt? Looking back now, my parents never once told me we dont have enough. I always had food on the plate and received great care from them. I do not spend my money lavishly, and Im thankful I didnt. My Masters was paid for 100 by scholarship, but I now have a 70k debt with 1k monthly payment because my parents used the 70k to settle some necessary expenses.So PersonalFinance, I come from an Asian family, but Im sure family debt is a universal concern. How will you advise me to approach this? What mind set should I carry moving forward? What is your story? I would love to have a conversation with you all.Best.Update1: Im back. The half a mil is in MYR, which is about USD123,000. Thank you dequeued.Thank you all, there are many insightful comments, Ill go through it and compile a word document to discuss with my sister later.  <response>: I dont think that is normal - at least I hope not. You can raise children within the limits of your income - unless you are not working or near the poverty line. But with a college education and a job that reflects that - and self control and a little smarts - you can raise your children and still save for retirement. Im not sure what all your parents had to pay for above and beyond what they were earning, but I am skeptical that it was necessary. 