Should I start paying student loans right away?

It depends on your personal circumstances. Paying off your student loan early might be a good idea, but you would need to look on the bigger picture. If you have a disposable income, this might certainly be a good idea to start contributing towards your debt. But you would also need to take into consideration some important questions making your decision. Do you have access to emergency funds? How secure is your job. If your circumstances will change, this could drastically impact on your spending, so fund prioritising is important. Job security is also a key factor, as losing your job could put you on a sticky situation, as you might have more pressing issues you need that cash for, rather than applying extra payments to your student debt. It is also important to consider other loans you might have in place, like personal loans and credit card, as lenders want continuous payments towards their given loans. You would also need to make a basic calculations on your day to day spending’s: like food, bills, hobbies and etc, as last thing you want is to leave yourself cash stranded. It is also important to examine your future goals or plans, what if you want to travel or buy an expensive car? All these factors should inform your decision. You would need to start prioritising your goals and objectives and would personally suit you better, for example if you are simply aiming to be a debt free, then throwing extra payments towards your student loan might certainly help, but if you have other goals in mind this could certainly impact the situation  

Hi Cam,

That is a great question! There are several types of student loans available, based on qualifications. If you have a subsidized loan, the interest is being paid for while you are in school as long as you are at least a half time student. If your loan is an unsubsidized loan and you can afford to make payments, it will save you money in the long run. It is always important as a student to be prepared for the unexpected. I have always suggested to students to have money set aside for the unexpected.

Student Loan borrowing can be overwhelming, borrow conservatively, and try to work even part time to pay for expenses. There are many budgeting tools as well on https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action (copy and paste). You will have access to all your federal student loan information here, as well as many options for repayment.

Wishing you the best with your educational goals. Keep planning for your future!