Dear Peak Money,
I’ve just been accepted to Chiropractic School! I took a year off after getting my degree to work and pay down some of my debt, but I still owe about $6,500 for OSAP. Does it make sense to pay off that small amount if it turns into an interest-free loan once I’m a full-time student again in the fall?
Sincerely,
Cost Concerned Chiro
Dear Cost Concerned Chiro,
Congrats on getting into Chiropractic College! You’ve got an expensive education ahead of you, and the terms of your current student loans will determine if you should repay them or not.
Things you may want to consider:
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Are they strictly provincial, or is there a federal portion?
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If you do not have to make payments once you are a student again, you should look at whether or not interest is accumulating while you are in school.
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If interest is accumulating while you don’t have to make any payments, you will need to determine what rate they are accumulating at.
- If the rate will cost you a lot over your schooling, it may make sense to pay them off.
That being said, you should still be able to deduct the interest you pay on your student loans on your tax return.
But paying them off might be a symbolic gesture to signify the ending of one academic era, allowing you to start your new path to becoming a chiropractor with a clean financial slate.
Janine Rogan is the Founder and CEO of The Wealth Building Academy, an award-winning Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), TEDx speaker, and the author of The Pink Tax. She also publishes weekly videos on Youtube and shares financial tips and tricks on Instagram.