Do you have a student loan?

[DirtyDog]

Has a student loan for the first few years after UNI (3 if I remember) and then went contracting. The first and I mean first thing I did was pay it off with my first dividend.

So, you took a dividend and paid off a loan which was being charged at an effective rate of 0% since it was linked to inflation?

Would it not have been better to pay it back slowly, and investing the money somewhere that attracted interest at a higher rate?

[DirtyDog]

So how much are you youngsters having to pay back?

My wife's loan account currently stands at about £13k

[d000hg]

So, you took a dividend and paid off a loan which was being charged at an effective rate of 0% since it was linked to inflation?

Would it not have been better to pay it back slowly, and investing the money somewhere that attracted interest at a higher rate?

Maybe in the long-run, but clearing your debts is hardly something to criticise.

[VectraMan]

So, you took a dividend and paid off a loan which was being charged at an effective rate of 0% since it was linked to inflation?

Would it not have been better to pay it back slowly, and investing the money somewhere that attracted interest at a higher rate?

Even back in 1990, I knew a couple of people that took out student loans just to have some money to invest, with it being effectively a free loan. Of course these were people with plenty of cash from Mum and Dad who probably didn't get any grant; it was a bit different for those of us that needed the money to eat.

I had a £2K overdraft on top of my £820 student loan when I left, and that seemed like a scary amount of debt at the time.

[SimonMac]

I've never been to university, I know that may come as a shock to most!

[MarillionFan]

So, you took a dividend and paid off a loan which was being charged at an effective rate of 0% since it was linked to inflation?

Would it not have been better to pay it back slowly, and investing the money somewhere that attracted interest at a higher rate?

Yes. Because it impacts how much banks will lend you for a mortgage which was the second thing I did.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

I've never been to university, I know that may come as a shock to most!

not really

[SueEllen]

not really

[DirtyDog]

Yes. Because it impacts how much banks will lend you for a mortgage which was the second thing I did.

Hmmm. All the banks I spoke to when I graduated ignored the student loan because it was effectively interest free. Maybe you had other question marks on your file, though.

[Bunk]

Hmmm. All the banks I spoke to when I graduated ignored the student loan because it was effectively interest free. Maybe you had other question marks on your file, though.

It was his £500 a day coke habit that they weren't too happy about.