You know, I just got my tax refund, and I was already planning on using it to knock down my student loan, but...I sort of just want to pay off my loan entirely. I have the money. But it's scary! Thousands of dollars, just bazoom. But I got a great performance review, so I'll be getting some sort of raise and bonus and whatnot, so it seems like a good way to mark the occasion.

And that's really only half of that last semester of grad school. My dad paid for the other half, and all of college, and he's not the sort of person you pay back.

I'd usually tilt his head back until his nose was pointing at the ceiling, which made dropping the pill straight down his throat much easier.

This. Plus, with the kitteh's nose pointing skyward, give a stout blow into the nose. This results in a naturally irresistible urge to swallow. A few gentle strokes to the throat and Bob's your pilled cat.

The treat afterward is a great idea too. Makes the process seem worthwhile to the non-grudge carrying feline.

The blowing technique works on dogs who won't let go of something too. A quick puff of air into an ear and their jaws naturally unclench. It's miraculous!

You might want to talk to an accountant about the tax implications, P-C. If you can keep getting the student loand interest deduction it might be worthwhile to keep the loan for a while. But I'm not sure how that really breaks down. Or, of course, how the financial considerations balance against your satisfaction of having school all paid for and out of the way.

If you can keep getting the student loand interest deduction it might be worthwhile to keep the loan for a while.

It's not worth anything, since I was just taking the standard deduction. Hell, even the loan interest deduction I was allowed to take was less than the interest I actually paid. And I'm not sure whether that actually mattered since I did just take the standard deduction in the end. I've had the loan for over a year, so it's done the good for my credit. The loan interest rate is 6.89%, and I'm only a few thousand dollars away from paying it all off.

If that's your only debt, P-C, pay it off. There's no easier way to make 6.89% on your money.

If you make over 65K, you can't take the deduction.

If that's your only debt, P-C, pay it off. There's no easier way to make 6.89% on your money.

That is my only debt, yep. And I probably could have paid it off months ago, but I've just been afraid to take that plunge. But having a job is cool.

If you make over 65K, you can't take the deduction.

Aha! That's good to know.

If you make over 65K, you can't take the deduction.

That's no longer true. It changed a few years ago (three, maybe?).

Of course, Paul's is paid off as of this month, so it's moot for us from here on.

Thanks for all the b-day wishes.

Me? I spent the lunchtime watching 300 again.

Who's up for some late Saturday evening or Sunday lunchtime Halo fragging?

The student loan interest deduction doesn't require itemizing,but it is limited to 2500/year, so we're not talking about a ton of money. I think it comes off your income rather than out of your tax liability, so it's impact might be hard to judge. But it's probably not going to make a huge difference either way.

You'll still have a cushion of savings if you pay off the loan, right? If that's the case, go right ahead, pay it off.