<prompt> Human: My girlfriend is 23 and Im 25. I graduated in 2008 with some 80K in student loans and my average salary now is 65-85K Im at a startup in its early stages. I have one credit card open that I use rarely but always make at least the minimum monthly payments. My loan payments are about 1K a month. Overall I do pretty well for myself; paying off my debts slowly but surely while still putting money aside into savings each month. Im still debt ridden but I pay for almost everything with cash and dont buy what I cant afford out of pocket.She is not as fortunate. Shes an immigrant who arrived when she was ten. Her mother was a doctor in their home country and expected to be able to transfer her degree to the states and provide for herself and her two father-less children. That plan kind of backfired and now her mother works as a nursetechnician; on top of that, a house she owned was foreclosed, so her moms credit is pretty shoddy. To make matters worse, her mom is not at all supportive of virtually any of her decisions. Constant criticism and negativity, no matter what she does.For various reasons, primarily financial, my girlfriends never had a chance to pursue higher education. She works random health careadministrative assistant jobs to the tune of some 14hr on average. The car shes driving is falling apart, literally on its last legs. She has some outstanding debt, around 1500, from the last city she lived in - her billstickets didnt get forwarded to her like they were supposed to, so she only found out about it two years after the fact.She has zero money in savings at the moment. Her credit rating is completely shredded because of these outstanding collections.Her mother wont co-sign on anything with her, unless she were to try to go to school to be a doctor or a lawyer; everything else her mother has deemed unworthy. She has no other immediate family in the states who could help her out, so naturally she turns to her relatively well-off boyfriend for support. Shes asked me twice now to co-sign on a loan with her; once on an 18,000 loan for a newer used car certified pre-owned, yada yada yada. And now, most recently, on an 18,000 student loan so that she can attend an aesthetics program for six months.At first I staunchly refused, telling her that I didnt believe in cosigning on a loan with someone who I wasnt legally tied to, whether it be immediate family or a spouse. I wouldnt cosign on a friends loan, especially one with an amount that large. Maybe something in the 5K range I would help out with, if they really really needed it, but even then I would be hesitant.That put a bit of a strain on our relationship after I refused the first time, though she said she understood; she was still pretty clearly upsetdisappointed that I didnt come through for her.This second time shes asked, I finally caved, but only because the student loan lender she was going through Sallie Mae offers a co-signer release option if the borrower makes 12 timely payments after graduation. It would take a couple of years, but I would be off the hook for the rest of the payments after that.It turns out, after calling Sallie Mae and giving them my personal information, that Im not qualified to co-sign for her loan because I only have one line of open credit and I dont use my credit card that often.Now shes asking me to reconsider on the car loan - we both know that Im qualified for that one, but I dont want to get into a 10 year financial contract with my girlfriend of two years, when Im not sure how long well be together or if well even get married.So...Ive done a lot of thinking about it over the past few days and Im now firmly convinced that in no way should I co-sign on either loan with her. Still, shes in dire straits right now. Her car is dying and could fall apart entirely any day now; shes at least 1,500 in debt; shes unable to attend school without someone co-signing on a loan with her her mom refuses; she has zero credit.Im going to propose a plan to her tonight to help her get her finances in order in a way that doesnt require my direct involvement. Lease a car for the next few years. It doesnt build her credit and she wouldnt be able to own it afterwards, but it doesnt require her to have superb credit and it would give her a stable means of transportation. Answer the calls from her collectors and work out a payment plan with them so that she can pay it off over the next six months or so. Take out a pre-paid credit card that she can use monthly to start building up her credit again. Put school on hold for at least another year until shes out of debt.Is this a sensible approach? Am I making a smart decision by refusing to co-sign and helping her get out of debt on her own? I feel like if I co-sign with her, its just going to lead to a co-dependent relationship where shes always relying on me to bail her out of things. Ive already paid 400 for one of her outstanding debts so that she could qualify for a credit check which she ended up failing anyway.EDIT: Thanks a lot for all of your input, everyone. Hearing people echo a lot of the things Ive been thinking has really helped. Co-signing at this point would go against every one of my baser instincts so thats definitely out of the question and Ill make sure to put my foot down next time it comes up. If shes unwilling to consider the above plan and still insists on my direct help then I think its time to reconsider the longevity of the relationship.Assistant: I think you are right to not co-sign for her. I would never co-sign for anyone to be honest, not family, not friends. The loan will almost always become yours after that primary borrower defaults and doesnt tell you they are even late on payments. Now you have bad credit and a loan to payoff yourself. If you are going to marry her that is another story, but not until then. Only then would I merge finances.Dont lease a car, just a bad deal all around, save and pay cash for another junker if needed. Repeat as needed.Dont talk to debt collectors until she has enough money to work out a cash payoff in full for below the balance.Unless she is buying a house in year or less she doesnt really need credit, so dont worry about pre-paid or secured credit cards.Holding on education is probably a good idea unless she can justify the loan value against raised future wages especially true for doctors, lawers, engineers, some health care. See if she can get scholarships to cover tuition, and or go to a cheaper school. If she thinks loans will payback, only take direct loans that dont need co-signers.TL;DR: Avoid debt like the plague. Save money. Dont co-sign, or lease ever.Human: All great advice! Unfortunately, leasing a car might be a necessity. Her car right now is a deathtrap; if she doesnt warm it up for a few minutes before driving it will randomly stall as she accelerates. Its happened to her before while turning through an intersection, pulling out of a garage and crossing two lanes, etc. etc. Every time shes gotten lucky and not gotten hit, but the potential for a fatal crash is tremendously high.She doesnt have time to save up enough cash for even another 2K clunker or something similar, so a short-term lease on a newer used car still seems like her best option right now.  <response>: Please dont lease anything - ever. Sounds to me like a 100 DIY tune up would help that car no end. Fuel filter, clean throttle body maf intake sensors, spark plugs, fluids. Youd be surprised how long cars can last when you take care of them. 