<prompt> Human: Reddit Personal Finance,I have been a long time lurker on this thread, however have never had the need to post anything to Reddit until recently, so it was time to make an account. I apologize in advance if I mess up anything in posting.I was raised by a single mother who did a phenomenal job, but doesnt manage money all that well. Growing up, things were very tough for her, but she never let us kids know. My brother passed away when I was young followed by my father. Then my grandmother moved in with us to help raise the kids while my mom worked, but began developing Alzheimers Disease. My mother took it upon herself to take care of my grandmother while working full-time for 7 years straight. This took a toll on everyone, but we were glad to do it. As a kidteen, I had everything I could hope for, she never let money troubles affect her children, even after a bankruptcy in 2008 and losing our house. At the time, she made 60,000year, and contributed moderately into her 401k. She was a widow for a long time and never dated or anything, only focusing on her kids. Eventually, she met a guy across the country and got married, but she cashed in her 401k to move us across country, to a place where her same job only makes 40,000year, but she was finally happy and focused on herself, something we her kids supported 100. I began going to a four year, public university to become a professional pilot shortly after that. I applied to many scholarships, but ended up only getting 10,000, for a notoriously expensive degree. I worked full time along with school, but my extra-curricular activities and flying classes meant I did not make enough money at my job to cover anything but food and earn mild college spending cash. I knew student loans were required, and asked her to apply to them for me, but I thought they were all in MY name. Come to find out, only a handful are in my name, of which she says I couldnt get any more money in your name, and had to do a parent PLUS loan. I was fine with this, but knew I didnt want her paying back any of it.I just logged in to her account after 4 years and just about passed out, despite following PF all the time, I dont know what to do. Please see below:My direct loans:Through NelnetPrincipal: 3,500 Outstanding: 3,525 Interest Rate: 3.860Principal: 2,000 Outstanding: 2,285 Interest Rate: 3.860Principal: 4,500 Outstanding: 4,500 Interest Rate: 4.660Principal: 2,000 Outstanding: 2,250 Interest Rate: 4.660Principal: 5,500 Outstanding: 5,500 Interest Rate: 4.290Principal: 5,500 Outstanding: 5,500 Interest Rate: 3.760Principal: 2,000 Outstanding: 2,144 Interest Rate: 4.290Principal: 2,000 Outstanding: 2,051 Interest Rate: 3.760Current Balance: 27,757.93Her Parent PLUS loans:Through My Great Lakes, U.S. Department of EducationPrincipal: 34,947 Outstanding: 43,229.21 Interest Rate: 6.410 Fees??? 734734Principal: 16,896 Outstanding: 20,171.83 Interest Rate: 7.210 Fees 362362Principal: 23,342 Outstanding: 27,681.14 Interest Rate: 7.210 Fees 489511Principal: 14,860 Outstanding: 16,569.86 Interest Rate: 6.840 Fees 318318Principal: 12,900 Outstanding: 14,384.32 Interest Rate: 6.840 Fees 276276Principal: 16,544 Outstanding: 17,258.14 Interest Rate: 6.310 Fees 352354Current Balance: 139,474.50Total: 167,231Recently I got a job in my field, making 40,000year base pay between 20,000-30,000 additional depending on how busy we are flying, but figure around 65,000year.Because I read PF all the time, I sometimes tell my parents about what I read, like that rule of thumb for saving for retirement. I asked them how much they had saved, and my step dad has about 50,000 my mom less than 5,000. They are 50 and 51 years old. They live in the moment, each owning nicer cars and motorcycles. They enjoy life, but I am worried of course. I told my mom about my concerns and she says Im not worried, I know I cant retire, Ill work until Im 80, but I love working anyway. I cant change how they live their life of course, but I do NOT want them to have to pay anything back on these loans. Theyve offered, but they need to focus on their lives. They could never pay this off anyway.I have a 740 credit score, should I transfer my moms loans into my name? Like through SoFi for example? Or should I just pay them the money and have them pay under their name?Also, should I follow the PF flowchart, which is the plan, or does Reddit recommend a different course of action? Moreover, what other options do I have to pay these off that I may not know about? I plan on living as cheaply as possible.TL;DR How should I pay for these loans so that my parents are unaffected? Thank you very much in advance.Assistant: Nobody is going to loan you 160k on 40k a year.Concentrate on your 27k. Pay that off in 5 years and come back to us.Human: Thank you for your response. I will be making at least 60k year 1, 70-80k year 2, probably 80k year 3. Payments for both her loans and mine are due this October, should I make minimum payments on hers, then as much as possible on mine? Assistant: Thats what I would do. Based on what you said about your mom, it sounds like she would be on board. Just make sure you do make the minimums on time every time so the loans dont negatively impact your moms credit score or finances further. If your situation changes e.g. job loss, illness, communicate with your mom about your needs.Good luck, and congratulations on the degreejob! After all the effort you put into building a good life, debt is a manageable challenge. :Human: Thank you for your advice, how much will minimum payments on my moms loans affect her credit score and such if I do that forever, am I probably talking like 30 years to pay them off with minimum payments or more?  <response>: you may have to look at the loan agreements that she originally signed. Mine were 10 years. I dont think you can afford to pay all the minimums on your salary. My guess is itll be between 1500 to 2k monthly. Can you afford that? Id figure out what you can afford on top of your loans and tell your mom. Make the payments directly to the loans, not to her. 