<prompt> Human: I recently came into a very large inheritance that I did not know was coming my way. I was lucky enough to make it through college without needing to take out any loans, but my best friend was not so fortunate. He is now struggling with student debt like most of our generation. I have the ability to pay off the entirety of his debt with one go without crippling myself. He has no idea this is even a possibility, I would never bring it up with him until I had a plan that made sense, but since I have no idea how student loans work I figured I would need to do research first. Thank you for your help!Edit: Thank you to everyone who commented, Ive been given a lot to think about and also a crash course in lending! It seems that without a doubt the best way to proceed would be to give the money as a gift or direct loan payment without ever expecting to see a Nickelback heh. Thank you all for looking out for my friendship and sharing your wisdom.Assistant: Thats very generous of you. Its definitely not a gift that a good friend could accept without feeling in indebted to. Depending on the dynamic of your friendship, I would take some time before making a concrete decision.Human: Thats wise, thank you. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I agree if I were in his shoes I would absolutely feel uncomfortable. My thinking was that I would rather have him be able to pay me off as he becomes able to and not need to worry about interest and the like.  <response>: This will become a huge strain on your friendship. Either give him the money outright or do nothing. Do not become a lender to your friend. 