Paid off my student loan!

A week ago, I made a lump sum payment on my student loan. Coupled with IRD crediting last month’s deductions from my pay, my loan is now fully paid off. In fact, I overpaid a little, just to be on the safe side. I’ll be getting a refund at some point once IRD works out all the figures.

My student loan wasn’t a particularly large one as these things go. It topped out at $25k, mostly from living expenses. I had a scholarship for part of my studies, but the final two years were a bit tight. I’ve been paying it off at about $125 per week for the past two and a bit years, and had it down to around $10k. I decided to take advantage of the National Government’s Voluntary Repayment Bonus, in which they give you a 10% discount on anything you repay that’s more than $500 over the minimum.

I had $10k in savings earning about 3.5% and no plans to do anything with it, so I figure I may as well use it to get myself a 10% return. It’s a little sad looking at the balance of my savings account right now, but I’m looking forward to having an extra $125 a week to go back into that account to replenish it.

Just must resist the desire to think that my income has increased and so now I can spend more. Money. Must. Go. To. Savings.