<prompt> Human: I have been lurking around this subreddit for a while and at this point it has been burnt into my brain that I MUST pay off my loans first! My situation is approx 40K in loans, age 27, ok paying job.I spent my early twenties wasting my money and making minimum payments. In the last year i grew up and started taking my finances seriously doing my best to pay off as much as i can increasing payments with an ok emergency fund as a back up.However, i am at the age where i need to be thinking about taking my relationship to the next level. But the thought of all the costs is driving me crazy. As much as i like reading about these frugal methods for rings, weddings, houses... I still have a lot of certain social expectations that are going to cost me.Has anyone gone through a similar experience? I dont want to put my life on hold until i pay off these loans, i want to find a good balance. Any tips and tricks on how to balance the loan payment vs moving on in life in regards to relationships. I know there was no easy magical solution, but, as you all mentioned, the combination of communicating with your partner and budgeting is the solution as always. Thank you for sharing your experiences and your comments!  <response>: Have you talked to her about this?Moving up in life is free. My fiance is wearing my Grandmothers ring for now until because we are dealing with some large expenses that came up. Our wedding will be nice, but not extravagant. Were looking at about 1,000 to get married in our church important to us, and about 2,500 for the reception. Were keeping things simple.Tell us more about these social expectations? Are these expectations youre putting on yourself, or things your partner is expecting?Putting your life on hold to pay off debt is silly. Communicate with your partner and come up with a plan. If you really want to take the next steps and start a life together, this is one of the most important talks you can have. And then keep talking about it.Good luck! 