I mentioned elsewhere on this website that I would start a blog that would hopefully spark some conversation about money topics.  Most people have questions about how to go about their finances and while I probably don't have the answers to most of those questions, other readers might!  So feel free to use this blog as a forum and let's get the conversation rolling...

This morning on Good Morning America, Mellody Hobson, their financial guru, was answering questions about student loans and paying for school.  One student asked her if it was smart to try and pay off student loan balances faster than required.  She told him that since federal student loans have such a low interest rate, (usually between 5 and 6 percent) it's not a bad thing to pay off your loans over time and definately pay high interest credit card balances off first! While I definately agree that you should pay off credit card debt first, I'm not sure how I feel about paying just the minimum payments on student loans if you can afford to pay them off faster.  I want to be debt free as fast as possible!  What do you think?  How do you plan on dealing with student loan debt?
4/28/2010 01:34:59 pm

I have been out of undergrad for 9 years and I just finished paying off my student loans last month--it was a wonderful feeling. I only had 2 years of college to pay for (other 2 years were covered by scholarships) and I went to a state school. Over the years I tried to put more money toward my student loans whenever I could. I didn't have any credit card debt, or a car loan so I was able to manange putting extra money toward the loan here and there. I am really glad I did! I should also mention that I am not super wealthy or anything--I work in the arts. I just scrimped and saved to make it work.

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4/28/2010 01:41:02 pm

Congrats on paying off your loans! I can imagine how good that feels. I don't have credit card debt either, but I do have a car loan. Hopefully I'll be able to put extra money towards my loans as well when my budget allows. Thanks for commenting!

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