[Borrowers can make up to $400 in annual fees and interest without incurring repayment on the loan.]

So the answer is: When you're in a pinch or can't pay your debt, the money to repay your loan comes from somewhere else in your life.

It's more complicated than that, though. How does a person get money to pay the debt, especially when they can hardly count on that money?

If you don't have to pay for anything, you don't need a money market fund. You don't need a credit union. Your paycheck or your business check is your ticket. So if you can manage to earn a bit of money on a part-time job, a part-time service gig, or some other way, your debt will be paid off for good.

If the debt is big  say you owe more than $30,000  it's better to have loans to pay off the small portions of that debt rather than risk putting you over the limit. (You'll be able to borrow funds from other sources if the debt gets big enough.)

But what if you have several loans that collectively total more than $40,000? Then paying down one can get difficult  especially if you're in debt on several different types of credit.