Dating: Is debt a deal-breaker?

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A couple waits to speak to a financial counselor with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America during "Save The Dream" event October 16, 2009 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California.
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How does debt affect your relationship? With more people in America accruing debt, many worry about taking on their partners' student loans or credit card debt.

Should you end a relationship because of serious debt - and if you choose to stay, what kinds of conversations do you need to have about fiscal responsibility and each partner's role in managing funds?

Ruth Hayden, personal finance educator and consultant, will join The Daily Circuit Friday to talk about partner debt. She'll also take your questions.

From NPR:

The issue recently came up in a letter to an advice column at Nerve.com, a pop culture dating website. This time it was a woman wary of a serious relationship because her boyfriend has $150,000 in debt, mostly student loans.

"He was explaining his money stress to me," the woman wrote, "and I started crying because I saw the future I want falling away."

She wrote that she felt "embarrassed" about being so "selfish," and signed her letter, "Am I Being Awful?"

Caitlin Caven, who writes the site's Miss Information column, assured the woman that she's right to take a hard look at things. She suggested that a responsible approach to repayment is more important than the boyfriend's actual -- admittedly staggering -- amount of debt.

Would you dump someone with too much debt? Comment on the blog.