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# Love & Money: Should You Pay Off Your Spouse's Debt?

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nx7966Wq.m3u8" -->
## Video: Love & Money: Should You Pay Off Your Spouse's Debt?

[Watch (HLS stream): Love & Money: Should You Pay Off Your Spouse's Debt?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nx7966Wq.m3u8) (1:10)

![Love & Money: Should You Pay Off Your Spouse's Debt?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nx7966Wq/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2015-01-13. Did your husband or wife come into the marriage with a credit card balance and student loan payments? Farnoosh Torabi explains what to do._


---

Jul 27, 2023 5:38 PM UTC

---

## More From This Series

[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

[5 Simple Strategies to Eliminate Credit Card Debt MONEY](/video/pwXBQfri/)

### 5 Simple Strategies to Eliminate Credit Card Debt MONEY

[Dumb Money: What Do I Do if I Have a Lot of Credit Card Debt?](/video/0QO7VUVD/)

### Dumb Money: What Do I Do if I Have a Lot of Credit Card Debt?

[Why Shouldn't I Keep a Balance on My Credit Card?](/video/yEdfhixm/)

### Why Shouldn't I Keep a Balance on My Credit Card?

---


## Transcript

[ MUSIC ] You love your spouse, but you don't love the debt your beloved brought into the marriage. Part of you just wants to help pay it off, but should you? While you're not technically responsible for any individual debt you partner brings into the marriage, you can't help but feel stressed by it and wonder how to move forward as a couple with your financial goals. It's tempting to wanna use your own income or savings to quickly erase your spouse's credit card balance but doing so could backfire. Here's the thing. There's something to be said about working your way out of debt. Receiving a blank check or having someone else clean up your mess teaches no hard lessons and the bad behavior is more likely to return.

Another strategy if you earn enough, consider taking on some of the shared expenses like housing or the car payment by yourself, temporarily, so that your partner can place more of his or her income towards debt. And while all this could take time, the extra effort and discipline involved could serve as a helpful reminder of why it's important to live within your means. For more love and money tips, go to money. com. [ MUSIC ]

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