Student loan searches are up ~11x this year — with payments back in full swing, is avalanche still the best payoff strategy?
Saw data showing "student loans" at 450K searches and "student debt" up roughly 11x year over year. Feels like a lot of people (including me) are re-running their payoff math. I have about $28K across three loans at 5.8%, 6.4%, and 7.1%. The standard advice is avalanche (highest rate first), but consolidation/refi pitches are everywhere right now. For someone with stable income, is there any real case for consolidating instead?
1 answer
- Avalanche payoff
Avalanche. The math doesn't change because search interest went up. Pay the 7.1% first, minimums on the rest. Consolidation only wins if you actually get a lower weighted rate AND you don't reset the clock with a longer term — most refi offers fail one or both of those. Run your numbers on undebt.it, the free avalanche/snowball calculator, and the refi pitch dies in about 60 seconds.