Paying off Student Loans

That depends on a lot. 6% isn't that high of an interest rate that you absolutely have to pay it down ASAP.

Have you fully funded your 401K to employer match and do you have an IRA? Most people here would recommend funneling your money into those two retirement funds before paying off the student loans.

Also, do you plan on taking out a car loan or a mortgage soon? If so, will your rate on that loan be higher or lower than 6%? It would be silly to pay down a 6% student loan, then turn around and take out a car note at 7%.

Don't forget that payments on student loan interest are tax deductible for most people, so that 6% interest rate is effectively a little bit lower than 6%.

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plan to put towards them into some sort of mutual fund where I can average at least 10% yearly interest

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Please let me know which mutual fund is averaging AT LEAST 10%

Write the interest off on your taxes, open up Roth and attempt to max out at 5K you have till April of 09' to do. Go buy- John Hancock Balanced (svbax ticker)or wasax ticker

Congrats. you felt the need to post that why?

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Congrats. you felt the need to post that why?

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to show that I am better than you

6% is starting to get in that region where it can be a tough call. A lot of major corporations pay more than that on their bonds and credit lines.

This is one of those very few situations where I would look at the minimum payment. A 401 (with or without a match) or a IRA/Roth might be better investments, but it's a chancy thing (sorry, but 10% is optimistic). But if you aren't that far out of school you may prefer to focus on paying down debt in order to reduce your maximum monthly nut. If you aren't in the top-tier credit score range yet this pays off because if you aren't yet you probably will be in the market for a mortgage. It's important to get the best terms possible for that big one - refinancing is expensive.

On the other hand, if you think you may move before the next ten years or so it may not be a great idea. But I'd consider it b/c probably sometime in the next 5 years real estate will be rather attractively priced in many cities.

Probably best would be a mix of options. If you have a company match in your 401, grab that up to the maximum match, then switch over to paying down the loan until you get a top-rank FICO, then sock away into a Roth (you can withdraw $10K for a first-time home purchase without penalty and still get the tax-free deal on interest).

That's the long version. The short version is - learn how to use Excel, you'll need it.

Thanks for all the info. I think I'm just going to pay off the student loans 1st then go on my way debt free. I paid off over 8k in credit cards over the last 5 months!

I made some dumb moves in college, obviously, but it feels good to be making the right moves now. Making that last CC payment sure felt nice.

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Excellent. Now tear up all your cards and throw them away

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why do that when you can get free airline miles and cash back?

you could join the air national guard they will pay off your student loans...