re: Student Loan Planning/Strategy

Not a fan of paying off stu loan debt to the exclusion of building up a cash reserve and doing a retirement contribution. OP has just $25k in debt: that's equivalent in dollars to car, or a tiny starter house. stu loan debt isn like consumer debt--depending on your income, some of the interest paid is tax deductible.

First off, investigate the loan forgiveness options offered by the govt. certain kinds of jobs (teaching, public service for a government entity, work for a 501c3 nonprofit, including most universities, etc) may qualify you for a loan forgiveness program. If you are qualified, you make 120 minimum payments, then the balance is forgiven.

Second, figure out how much cash you can devote to debt payment, to establishing a cash reserve, and to a retirement contribution. Don't completely neglect any one category over the other. Sure, pay on those loans, but it is equally important to save for retirement, especially while you're young. It is also good fiscal discipline to learn to balance multiple smaller goals, rather than blindly flail at one big symbolic one (those stu loans) while ignoring other important aspect of your financial well being (your emergency cash and retirement; with a Roth IRA, the retirement cash and cash reserve can be in the same account).

Debt isn't a disease....lack of self discipline is. Don't run up unnecessary consumer debt at this point (car, house, stuff), keep plugging away while saving for emergencies and retirement, and it will all be paid down in a few years.