<prompt> Human: Hey Guys,I have performed my diligence in reading the Wikis here on PF, but remain at my wits end. To be clear, I am writing this in an effort to help my girlfriend who despite maintaining a well paying job with a modest lifestyle remains utterly buried in her loan debt with no end in sight. She is 26 and has essentially come to terms with dying with this debt.---Key points: Total debt around 110,000. Her entire education was funded by a 100,00 private loan and 20,000 federal loan. She attended the now defunct Art Institute Both loans were co-signed by a successful but now retired Uncle in her family.___ Her monthly income after taxes around 2,300. She has no outside assistance in repaying the loans. To date, she has scarcely made a dent in her principle balance. With no loans in deferment, she owes around 1,500 monthly. She has been paying around 550 monthly with one loan being deferred. We split all expenses. Rent is approximately 450 each, with utilities cellphone, internet, gas, electric totaling around another 150 each per month. We lead a modest lifestyle and budget, but she has never been able to save money in her adult life due to this debt. She has no other debts whatsoever and no credit cards. I have minor CC debt but no loans.___Long story short: Is this it? Is she simply doomed to owe some 25 - 50 of her income for the rest her life? Are we left waiting for a windfall or a tremendous promotion? She is utilizing her degree at a reputable company in her field design but would not be in the income range to deal with this kind of debt for at least another decade of experience. She would love to take her Uncle off the loans but does not have the credit or ability to pay the full amount each month.We really do not know where to turn for all this.Thank you in advance.  <response>: The first issue here is her budget, and why paying it is not possible.She has 2,300 in income.You have listed Rent Utilities of 600 month. Aside from food costs, theres 1,700 in available monthly money here. Where is the rest of this going that makes her unable to afford payments or save up? You dont have enough listed here to explain why she cant pay the monthly amount owed.The second question is what are the interest rates involved here?Its pretty easy to see with an amortization calculator that a balance of 120,000 being carried at 10 interest with a 1,500 monthly payment will be paid off in 133 payments just over 11 years; so stuck with it forever doesnt seem true - the payment amounts are meant to eventually pay the loans not saddle you with them permanently. I picked 10 since I assume the private ones are higher than the typical federal loan of 3-6, but if its lower then it wouldnt take as long to pay back.Yes, paying back so much over a decade or more sucks, but that was really something that needed to be considered before taking so many private loans, all you can do now is deal with it. But its not impossible to repay it. 