Videos Best Tricks for Paying off Student Loan Debt | Mint Student Finance Tips Video Admin 4 weeks ago Transcript 0:02 This question comes from Cory on Mint’s Facebook page. 0:05 And this is Cory’s question. 0:06 What is the best way to pay off $32,000 of student loan debt? 0:10 Cory that’s a very good question. 0:12 It really depends on the interest rate 0:14 that you’re paying on that student loan debt. 0:16 There are certain types of student loans that have very, 0:19 very good interest rates- 2 1/2%, 3 1/2% and in many cases, 0:23 that interest is tax deductible. 0:25 I would not accelerate a pay back of those loans 0:28 by taking money out of another type of investment, 0:30 and especially I would never break into a 401K 0:33 to pay off that kind of loan. 0:34 However, there are types of student loans 0:37 that have fairly high interest rates, 0:39 so really it’s a matter of budgeting. 0:41 You put more of your discretionary funds 0:43 at the end of the month towards the principle of that student 0:45 loan and you’d be surprised just how 0:47 quickly you could pay it off. 0:48 I’ll give you a great example to quantify it. 0:50 $32,000 is not terribly different than what 0:53 you would pay for an auto loan, and most auto loans 0:55 can be paid off in 36 months to 60 months, 0:58 so you should be able to knock that debt off 0:59 within the next five years.