Should you pay off your student load debt early?

I'm often asked the question if you should invest your money or pay off your student loan debt first.

  The answer is, it depends.

Do you have an emergency account with 6 months of expenses?  

No?  This should be your number one priority before you save or spend any money.

Yes?  Then it depends....

Are you carrying credit card, auto loan, or any other debt that has an interest rate hirer than 7%?

No?  Good for you.  Then it depends.....

Yes?  This needs to be payed off first before any student loan debt.

Here is where the big questions come in... Do you have a 401k?  Does your company give you a match?  Say your company gives you a 50% match for every dollar you put in up to 3%.  If you put in 6% of your salary, you are getting an extra 3% free.  Isn't free money great?!

But what if you don't get a match or don't have a 401k?  

Are you maxing out your IRA?  

Are you saving for a house or some other large expense?

Can you deduct your student loan interest at tax time?

The choice to pay off student loan debt or not is purely a personal one.... You need to do what is right for you and your circumstance.  This is my personal approach.

I have a basic budget of X amount a week.  This includes all of my set bills and general expenses.  Any amount over X I break up into different categories:

40% to debt (student loan) repayment... Note that I have no credit card debt.

30% to cash savings (for future and unexpected expenses like medical deductibles)

20% to stocks

10% to fun money

These numbers work for me.  Figure out the numbers that work best for you.