The Big Payoff- should you take care of student loan debt as soon as possible?

A very interesting (and timely as you will see below) article on the AP this morning which I wanted to share … “Should you pay off your student loans quickly?”… detailing the story of one recent Grad School graduate who felt that alleviating himself of his student loan debt burden was the key to his personal and professional freedom. His strategy for how he did this is a good replicable model for any new “loan repayer” to follow.

The article (as indicated by its title) also debates if paying off the student loan debt when compared to other pending debt (credit cards, car loans) is the best strategy. Basically it encourages students to develop a “debt stacking” model where debt sources are triaged for repayment based on the amount of total debt and the interest rate.

Want to know more about the value of “debt stacking”? It just so happens that Lori Moore, Financial Literacy Director for the Access Group will be here at YLS for two workshops in October both of which will incorporate the debt stacking strategy. On October 15th Lori will present “Loan Repayment… Pick Your Plan “- a workshop targeted to 3Ls for whom loan repayment is imminent and on October 18th Lori will be back to talk about “Borrowing and Budgeting Wisely”- a workshop geared to 1Ls and 2Ls addressing what proactive steps they should be taking as students to put their financial house in order now. Both workshops are from 12:10-1:00 p.m. in Room 127 and, in the spirit of strategies to save money, include a FREE lunch. Check the YLS calendar for more info.