<prompt> Human: Hello Reddit PF, I notice a lot of posts on here celebrating and talking about paying off student loans as quickly as possible. I wanted to present a counter argument to this mindset.Since graduating and starting work about 2 years ago, I am not paying off my 25k in student loan debt at roughly 4 beyond the monthly minimums. Why? a couple reasons1 Tax deductions on student loan interestNot only that, but you might also be eligible for a tax deduction on your student loans. You may be able to reduce your taxable income by up to 2,500 depending on your eligibility. Added up over time, that can help make your interest less expensive.2 Return on my investment has been greater than the interest rate of my loansYour first consideration is whether or not you can get a better return through investing than you can if you pay down your student loan debt.My rate of return on the money I have invested, rather than applying it to my student loan principle has pretty much corresponded with the SP 500 over the last 2 years almost 15. Obviously this doesnt hold true always, but it has been a far better financial decision that accelerating my loan payments.3 Time value of money, and starting early ; compounding interestMany sacrifice their savings early on to apply this money to their loans. this chart is an interesting analysis and a good example of the power of starting savings early, and compounding interestI hope this is helpful for some wondering what approach to take!Cheers  <response>: Just depends on your situation and tolerances. Some people value the feeling of being debt free more so than others. Others may want more immediate returns for future purchases, so its a nice little guaranteed return that youd never see in savings accounts without huge caveats. Also helps finance other purchases since the debt will no longer play a role in your debt to income ratio. Lots of factors; just gotta do what makes most sense for you. 