<prompt> Human: I just learned that my fiance accumulated around 12,000 in debt. 7,000 is from the US Navy long story, and I guess the rest is from unpaid tickets and credit cards that have gone into collections. Hes getting this info from Credit Karma, if that makes any difference. I am debt-free.I have no idea how to even begin to tackle this. Right now we are making about 4k a month, and we have very few living expenses since we are living with my parents. However, we are both unhappy living here and are looking for a house... I just dont know what to do, now that I know we owe 12k... Thanks in advance, guys.Assistant: No real choice here, this is part of marriage. You need to pay off the debt. Set aside your emergency fund, create a strict budget, and put everything else towards the debt. The house must come after all this debt is paid offHuman: Set aside as in stop saving? That doesnt seem wise to me.  <response>: You set aside enough for your emergency fund, then attack the debt. So your savings should only consist of 3-6 months expenses, then everything else goes to work for reducing the debt. You shouldnt be budgeting a monthly contribution towards your emergency fund if you already have 3-6 months, as this contribution would be wasted just sitting in a savings account. Paying off debt increases monthly cash flow, which is the most important thing for you in saving for a home 