I have ~4% interest rate on my student loans. I've been lucky and managed to save enough money to pay them completely off before they ever accrue any significant interest. On the other hand, I've been investing my money in the stock market and would like to get into real estate. With investing I've seen my money grow by much more than 5%. So naturally I'm not sure if throwing a large sum of money into the loan is the best way to go. Mathematically & financially speaking is it best to avoid the interest on the loan (pay it off straight away) or do smaller payments and invest the rest? How can I calculate the potential financial results of both options? Any advice is greatly appreciated! I'll have to make this decision in about 30 days.