Which debt to pay?

[My English Castle]

student loan
Mortgage interest is tax deductible

[mdcrim]

I'll vote for the student loan, too.

[Aleta]

I vote also for the student loan as well. Your monthly mortgage payment is low enought not to have to worry about it. My husband and I used to have a payment coupon book that we used to stay 1 to 2 months ahead of our mortgage. That was a form of an emergency measure for us. We also felt good about having the future month on time.

[Seeker]

student loan
Mortgage interest is tax deductible

Student Loan interest is ALSO tax deductable.

[swanson719]

I'd pay off the student loan, but only because it is a higher interest rate and a lower amount of money. What are you doing with that extra 22% you were putting in your now funded EF? If you're putting 39% towards debt, you can knock them both out in about 5 years at your current pay, assuming you don't get married or have some other large cost.

[williamsnancy]

Okay, I currently have two major debts, and I am trying to decide which to attack first.

#1: Mortgage: 15yr fixed 5.25%. Original balance of 83K. Remaining balance of 62K. I've been paying on this since Dec. of 2004.

#2: Student Loan: 20yr fixed rate of 6%. Balance of 47K. Repayment begins in Feb. of 09.

Some background info, I'm 30, single, and don't plan on moving in the foreseeable future.

My thoughts: I was thinking that it may be a better bet to try and get the mortgage paid off early first because, should the economic downturn hit me, at least no one will be able to foreclose on me and throw me out of my house. Should I have to default on a loan, the student loan would probably have less of an impact on me.

I guess that I should list this stuff too:

401K: 18,400
Roth IRA: 8000
Stock Portfolio: 4500
Mutual Funds: 10000
Cash: 7800
EF Fund: 14800, IGO Banking earning 3.08%

Any thought?

Thanks

You have a good point! You should settle your mortgage first because it has more impact in case you didn't settle it on time.

[snafu]

I'd tackle SL, making certain that the additional sum was going directly to principal. That SL has potential to affect every financial decision for years and years, the money's spent, sunk sums. At least the mortgage has increasing home value at present.

[JudyDunlow]

Refinance the home to a lower rate & pay off the student loans ASAP! Your home has equity, your student loans are a black hole. Get rid of the loan cancer first, then pay down your asset/house so you can live debt free.

[ladonnarosso]

Since this original thread is so old (2009, lol), Brian, would you mind giving an update on what you did? People are still weighing in, but I'm thinking this is a moot point right now...

[bjl584]

Since this original thread is so old (2009, lol), Brian, would you mind giving an update on what you did? People are still weighing in, but I'm thinking this is a moot point right now...

I sold the house.

I still have the student loan debt, but it's been paid down significantly.

It's interesting to see that back in 2009 I had an investment portfolio worth around $63,000. Today it's worth a little over $300,000.