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This is my personal perspective. Borrowing for a long-term investment and making active use of that investment isn't likely to concern me, as I don't consider it debt centered around frivolous or irresponsible spending habits. This is presuming the debt is managed and handled responsibly, not with a bunch of drama around defaults, unnecessarily high interest, etc.
Some types of debt aren't a dealbreaker, as not all borrowing indicates poor financial management and/or judgment, negative behavioral issues tied in with spending, etc.
Student loan is one thing but if they are also living way beyond their means and have an expensive car and a house that is way over their means that is a flag to me that they don't know how to budget and live within their means.
So a fancy expensive car and a big house in a posh/expensive neighborhood in addition to big student debt would make me wary.
I have student loan debt. It sucks, sure.. but my credit is fine and I make enough money that it doesn't affect our lives. My wife doesn't pay a dime of her own money on my student debt. We don't own a house because we can't decide where to live, however every time I have gone to a mortgage broker my student loans are barely even brought up and we are qualified for exactly what we'd want.
I don't have one ounce of debt anywhere else though, no car debt, credit cards etc..
I think a lot depends on the person in debt, and how much it'll affect the other person in the relationship. There are too many variables to say " would you date someone with debt?"
Hell, I looked back on a post from many years ago of mine and I said I'd never date a girl with a kid. That didn't pan out either.
Depend how old he is. If a man is 45 or older, and carries a $30K debt or more (mortgage and car payments not included), then no. Not even student loan. It means he's not financially responsible, and lives above his means. I have many family members who have a six figures student loans because of higher education (medical school), and they paid it off before turning 40. I went through college with barely any student loan since I was extremely frugal during college time. Paid mine off within one year of working full-time. No debt thereafter (except house mortgage).
Would you date someone who is fit and has a good career, making about $70,000, but who is about $100,000 in debt (mostly student loans), and who pays off about $1,000/month?
If they just finished an advanced degree, it might be OK, but if they have been out of school for a long time, no.
Since you have a plan and a good career to pay for it, I think in your case it is not a big deal. I would be more concerned getting married to someone who has a habitual problem with personal finance. A lot of divorces site money as a major contributor.
For my wife and I, it was a problem for a short period of time in our marriage. Long story short, I wiped the slate clean and dumped my entire savings and paid her debts off. It was the only recourse I could think of to quickly resolve the situation. My wife in turn made efforts to change spending habits. She's actually more frugal than I now... and while money is always an topic of concern we are always on the same page when it comes to goals. I think it is important to note that she was embarrassed of her financial situation and kept it hidden from me until after we were married. I was actually more angry that she wasn't honest with me about it even after we got engaged than the actual debt itself.
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