Dear Dave,

My husband and I are on Baby Step 2. Among our debt is about $14,000 in student loans. I think we should roll the student loans in with the rest of our debt snowball, but he wants to wait and see if the government will pay it off. What do you think we should do?

Kristy

Dear Kristy,

I’m sure your husband’s a great guy, but I think he’s being a little naïve. I don’t believe this whole student loan forgiveness thing is going to happen. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. And if that time comes, I’ll admit it. But to me, this is just another ploy – another carrot being dangled by politicians.

I’ve lived through several presidents – from both parties – who promised to give me prosperity. So far, none of them have delivered. Any success my wife and I have experienced has come as a result of God’s blessings, our hard work and a stubborn refusal to give up.

Virtually none of the millionaires I’ve studied over the past 30 years got to where they are by looking to the government to take care of them. Instead, they left the cave every morning, killed something, and dragged it home. Believe me, there’s a high correlation between people’s ability to build wealth and the belief that their destiny is in their hands – not the government’s.

If you sign for a loan – any loan – you have a moral and legal obligation to repay the money. Go ahead and roll the student loan debt into your debt snowball. Continue taking charge of your finances and your lives!

Dave