<prompt> Human: Hi PF. I got married recently to a wonderful woman and she knows I have federal student loans 120k majority being at 7 interest--graduate school loans. She owns a house free and clear which her family helped her with prior to us getting married. Our combined gross income is about 75k a year and she thinks making monthly payments on the student loans is expensive due to the high interest and wants to pay it off in one go. Of course we dont have that kind of money, she thinks that if we mortgaged the house valued at around 300k we could use those funds to pay off the student loans and use the remainder to invest in the stock market. Im not sure if thats even allowed or a good idea. She says that its better to pay a 300k debt off at 3-4 over time instead of the student debt 40k 3 and 80k 7. She also thinks that the money earned on the stock market from the 180k investment we could get a return greater than the mortgage we take out at 3-4 which would help pay it off sooner.Im not that familiar with finance or investing, but I feel that there are some assumptions baked into her reasoning that wont make this work. But hey Im the dummy with 120k in student loans so I turn to you PF, youre my only hope. Is her idea feasible?  <response>: Try looking into SoFi or other private refinancers before mortgaging. Its not a crazy idea though -- you can often get a lower rate, and the interest is tax deductible.Mortgaging to invest in the stock market is a much worse idea. Note that you dont have to mortgage the entire value of the house. You could take out a mortgage just to cover the student loans. There doesnt need to be a remainder. 