<prompt> Human: Right now Im working towards my Masters degree. I am fortunate enough to be funded, so tuition is covered and I receive a stipend of 16,000 for 9 months plus about 4,000 for the summer. My living expensively are pretty reasonable so Im wondering if I should start making larger payments on my student loans or investsave the additional money. The loan is small. Only about 3000 left on it. The interest on the loan is 6. I dont expect to find an investment that yields 6, but I want to know if its worth it to keep my extra income around? The extra money would only be about 100 per month. So increase the loan payment or put the money away?  <response>: not applicable in every situation, but if the interest rate is 4 or higher, pay off your loan before looking to invest. ymmv a lot with retirement saving priorities and the like, though. 