I was in the same situation as you are in, but I still went with the 10 year program. Things can change VERY quickly (which it did for me several times moving across the country a few times), so it was great I had managable payments - and like you said, you can always pay extra without penalty. Besides, the interest you pay is a nice tax credit!
Also - BIG TIP HERE - if you are making extra payments, (if they were split like mine), put the extra money on the smallest first and so on - all of a sudden, you have 1 paid off and that is a big plus for your credit file!
Of the three I had (2 AB Student Loans, 1 Canada Student Loan), I just have the one AB one left (the biggest), and I should have it paid off by year-end thanks to the extra payment route I went... so about 7.5 years
Just that's just my $0.02 !!!
Quote:
Originally posted by kappaloo
How long of a repayment period did you choose for your student loans? I've been looking into it during my lunch today and the default is 9.5 years, though I think I would prefer to double payments and pay in 5 years if I'm allowed. I mean, half the time means half the interest and there doesn't seem to be a penalty for it....
Just curious what everyone else did. If you didn't have the joy of student loans - lucky you! My loans are just over half of what an average student with loans ends up with so I consider myself lucky just to have that little!
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