Mathematically speaking, the sum of the amount of money he will have left after x years is greater if he has no loans, which have interest attached to them. Wi

Mathematically speaking, the sum of the amount of money he will have left after x years is greater if he has no loans, which have interest attached to them. With a huge penalty in disposable income while in grad school. Spending more in the long term and spending less in the short term are two different cases -- neither of which is objectively better than the other. The better is dependent on circumstances.