<prompt> Human: Hey redditors, My longtime GF of 4 years started grad school a year ago. Shes been stressing out about having 175k in student loans by the time she graduates. Eventually, we do plan on getting married and buying a home but wanted to start decreasing the student loans as soon as possible. Im currently working and want to help out. Im planning on paying for both our living expenses and use the rest of my paychecks to start paying off her loans. Is this the best approach to dealing with this amount of student loans? Are we missing out on substantial tax benefits because were not married?Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!  <response>: I think marriage would have significant benefit to you because adding her to your tax return would double your deductions exemptions without adding additional income. assuming she isnt producing much incomeDealing with that kind of debt is going to be a huge commitment so it would make sense to get married. If you are going to be supporting her through school, its a huge financial risk for you. If you are that committed then marriage makes sense. If she refuses marriage, but will accept that much support from you then something is wrong and you should reconsider the project. 