I have a staunchly Republican friend with a crap load of student debt

[LenaBaby61]

48. YOU & many others did the sensible things in this situation.

But, many others didn't.

I have a male cousin in his 70's who got his federal student loan and ran through it. Spent like he was being paid to spend it. I was younger than he was, but remember his late Mom telling My late Mom that he was buying motorcycles, fancy clothes, eating/drinking out and spending on friends et al. He even took a trip to Tijuana. I remember him doing that. Here it is almost 50 years later, and last year they started seizing a portion of his Social Security. He did well in his chosen profession and he had DECADES to pay his student loan back. I guess he thought 'somebody' would magically pay it back. He chose to waste much of his student loan monies. I really don't feel sorry for him, because like I said he had decades to pay his loan off. And what's worse, one of his daughters spoke with me a few months ago when that portion of money was sized from his social security check, and his wife is HELLA furious at him because he never told her about this large student loan debt he owed. His wife's way of showing her disgust at him was to take to another bedroom to sleep in--as his daughter told me. YIKES He and his wife are comfortable, but him never telling her about his debt and that nice-sized chunk of money taken out of his SS check monthly was a bridge too far for the wife.