<prompt> Human: As a young adult, I am fortunate to have been able to pay off all but 1800 of my approx. 20,000 in student loans. I also may be looking to upgrade my car or buy a house in the next 5-10 years and am therefore trying to build credit. My credit score is fine but my student loans are the oldest credit on my record 5 years with my first credit card being opened about 2 years ago. Plus I know have a mix of installment loans and credit cards looks good on a credit report.My question is: should I apply for reduced student loan payments for the sole purpose of keeping the loans on my file longer? Also, what effect would applying for reduced payments have on my credit score?Common sense would tell me to just eliminate the debt right now in order to avoid paying any more interest. What if I paid off all but 800 or so of my loans and just made small payments on that for the next 5-10 years? This way interest would be a non-issue but I would still have the credit history.  <response>: No, dont extend the loans. Theres no reason to pay interest to build and maintain your credit. Once the loans are paid off, they will stay on your report for approximately 10 years and they continue to contribute to your score. Once they are paid off continue to use your credit cards responsibly and you will have a solid score when you apply for a mortgage in 5-10 years. 