Whats the risk in owing someone else money? Whats this risk really mean when accounting for the fact they intend not to spend but save and thus would have some percentage (based on how much was in savings, cds, mms, or market) available to shift into payoff if one of these risks materialized?
The simple answer is that you have to make an income each month and make your payments or face the consequences. For student loans the consequences of not paying them are fairly steep (wage garnishing, law suits, credit ruined, tax refund intercepted). That's a risk. It's not too different from indentured servitude. You're not really free to do as you please as long as you have that debt.
Yes, you are absolutely right that those who are thrifty and save aggressively can eventually accumulate enough savings/investments to pay off those loans at any time which does give you the sense of being free. But, that's not always a guarantee. Investments can fail/lose value, yet the loan balance remains. Yet, there's zero risk to paying off your loans early. The balance goes away and you're instantly free to do as you please with your own money. Yes, there's a potential for lost opportunity, but again there's no guarantee that any money you invest will return anything and could actually be a loss. Besides, you should make the lost opportunity calculation BEFORE you agree to borrow or spend money.
There's always two sides to this argument and I don't necessarily think either side is wrong. My brother in law and I debate over this all the time. He favors leveraging himself with low interest debt and I favor being debt free. It's probably a personality difference more than anything.
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