188: Finance Friday: Is A Master's Degree Worth The Pay Raise?

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Being strapped with student debt isn’t easy. It creates a whole new obstacle to hitting financial freedom, but it can be mitigated. So does it make sense to invest on the side and pay the regular monthly payments on student debt, or go all-in and pay off huge chunks of student debt at once? Today’s guest, Robyn, has this exact question (which many of you may have as well).

Robyn lives in the Bay Area, one of the most notoriously expensive housing markets on the planet. That being said, she is paying very low rent, under $700 a month, split with her partner. Robyn has student loans and a small car loan, but wants to go back to school to get her master’s degree so she can hit her career goals. There would be a pay raise after she got her master’s and she loves her job, so she’s keen on staying in her sector for awhile.

Scott and Mindy go through a few examples where it may be best for Robyn to go more heavy on investing, instead of paying off the student loan aggressively. This is especially true now that the government has given the option of 0% interest payments on student loans for many students (including Robyn) until at least the last quarter of 2021. So what makes more sense, get rid of debt or go in on investing?

In This Episode We Cover

• Keeping a large savings rate every month for unexpected expenses
• Finishing school faster so you walk away with less debt
• Knowing your student loan and other debt interest rates
• Weighing investing against paying off student loans quicker
• Having a side-income so you can maximize saving whenever possible
• And So Much More!

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