Q&A: The Case for NOT Paying Off Your Student Loans

: When the numbers look straightforward—but the rules, timing, and future are uncertain—how do you decide what to do next? KJ has $90,000 in student loans, a recent inheritance, and a lot of uncertainty around changing repayment policies, and is trying to decide whether to pay down debt now or hold onto cash in case future payments become unaffordable. Anonymous (let’s call her Andrea) is about seven years away from retirement with $1.9 million saved and is thinking about sequence of returns risk, and is wondering whether working part-time could help protect against a poorly timed market downturn or simply delay the risk. Anonymous (let’s call him Andrew Ryan) is a retired homeowner in their early 70s who recently bought a second home to be closer to family and is planning to rent it out part of the year, and is wondering how to structure it and how taxes work for a property that’s both personal and income-producing. Share this episode with a friend, colleagues, and Ryan Gosling: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Q&A: The Case for NOT Paying Off Your Student Loans is an episode from Afford Anything by Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network.

This episode is 72:30 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

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