After $175K in loans, she hasn't learned the definition of 'nondischargeable'. No worries; the school of hard knocks should educate her on that knowledge gap.
She can elect to pay cash for everything for a while because she won't find credit at reasonable terms. But eventually some really bad stuff happens to those that have the ability to repay but choose not to - tax refunds, wage garnishment, revocation of professional licenses, lawsuits. The school of hard knocks gets painful if you think that they'll eventually forget - there is no statute of limitations on collecting student loans. What Happens When You Default on Your Student Loans

But where the school of hard knocks delivers a costly education on loan default is that they can assess some pretty steep penalties and fees on top of your loan balance. The draconian hidden penalty on student loans - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blogTerm Sheet


Are they going to go after an OWS Starbucks barrista living in his parents' basement who's blowing his weekly tips on a dime bag? Unlikely. But someone earning six figures is low hanging fruit.