For a long time, Federal student loans had an interest rate of 6.8%. That's high enough that it is probably a good idea to defer investing until you can pay the

For a long time, Federal student loans had an interest rate of 6.8%. That's high enough that it is probably a good idea to defer investing until you can pay them off. Some private loans have rates above 9%. The alternative, which is much easier now due to some of the fintech startups like Sofi and Commonbond, is to refinance to a lower rate. The downside is that your loans become private, so you lose various Federal loan protections such as hardship deferrals, income-based repayment plans, etc. If you have a low income relative to your monthly payments, you should probably keep the Federal loans. But if your monthly payments are easily affordable, and you have decent savings in case you lose your job, refinancing is a no-brainer. You can get as low as 3%, which is low enough that paying the minimums and investing your extra disposable income is better than paying off the loans faster.