Better to pay off student loan or not?

[iltph]

I've had a student loan for over 7 years and still owe another 13,000. It reports to all CRAs and doesn't have any lates. I've been paying twice the monthly payment each month. I was wondering if it's better to pay it off or keep it to show I can make monthly payments. I know the debt is viewed in a different way and not like a credit card, so it's not really considered a "bad" debt, which is why I'm not sure if it's better to keep it.

 

I have several baddies and a few open TLs that do not have any lates. My FICOs are all around the mid-600s.

[krzywon]

The amount of debt and utilization of student loans does not effect your FICO score very much. A positive payment history will greatly outweigh any amount of debt you have, for any installment debt. How do I know? Well, I have 10 years positive payment history, with $54k in SL debt, but my FICO is near 800.

 

Paying off the loan wouldn't be a bad option, assuming you have the money to do so, and won't drain your savings. This will save you some money in interest payments, but you will lose the student loan interest deduction, assuming you're under the salary cap to claim this. The effect on FICO will be minimal.