<prompt> Human: I frequent rpersonalfinance daily. I cannot for the life of me understand how people can come in here and complain so much about student loan debt. You made a concious decision to further your education. This shouldnt come as a surprise to you but that education isnt free. I dont know how many times I have to read I worked hard on my degree, I want to take trips and buy houses and new cars. Ive earned it. YOU HAVENT EARNED ANYTHING. You have an obligation to repay the people that loaned you the funds to further your education. Im well aware that the economy isnt in the best place at the moment and in certain environments its incredibly hard for people to get a strong career started. But the people that come in here and have used their degree to get a decently paying job and then complain because their student loan payments are to high, drive me up the wall. Am I crazy to think that if you borrow money and sign on the dotted line you have an obligation to repay that debt?rantEDIT: Since several people have asked. I grew up in a single income family with two other siblings. My father finished his career making 38kyear after 28 years. Needless to say we skimmed by throughout my childhood. I didnt necessarily need for anything but I wanted for a lot of things. 0 in savings for my education. I did fairly well in high school and got a couple scholarships initially. Finished my bachelors with 46k in student loans. I graduated and got a fairly decent salaried engineers position. I have 32k left. Assistant: True, OTOH, its almost impossible for an 18 year old to make good decisions about borrowing large sums of money. And lenders are all too happy to prey on them.Human: I agree that the lenders make it incredibly easy to hand people stupid amounts of money. It should be regulated a little better, and by a little I mean a whole damn lot. I turn 27 this week and feel like Id have an entirely different new found respect for college if id have started at 25 rather than 18. Im a completely different person now than then.  <response>: I started college at 25 and it made all the difference. I was flabbergasted on a daily basis at the immaturity and disinterest in those around me. Working for a living before hand is pretty valuable experience. 