The longer it takes for you to pay off your student loans, the more interest you’ll pay on them so you’ll end up paying more than if you were to pay them off sooner. If your student loan interest rate is susceptible to change over time, then you could end up paying more interest on your repayments as time goes on, so the sooner you pay it off the less chance you’ll have of paying crazy interest.  Once you pay off your student loans, they’ll be wiped from your credit report which will help you when applying for credit for either a home or other things like furniture, vehicles, credit cards in the future. However, it is important to note that student loan debt does not affect your credit history too much.  Student loan debt can be very overwhelming and it can harm some people psychologically. Some people may find it easier to go into the home buying process with their student loans completely wiped, making it more simple to focus on the mortgage repayments of your home and also any repairs or decorating you may want to do.  However, if your debt to income ratio is too high then you may not be able to qualify for a mortgage so you’ll need to work on paying off some of your student loans and other loans before considering contacting a lender. If you pay off high amounts of student loans, credit card bills, and auto loans every month which take up the majority of your income then the lending company will not think you’re capable of making your monthly mortgage repayments.  If you’re still early on in your career and unsure of where you’ll be in five years, then it’s probably best to focus on repaying your loans instead of making the commitment of buying a house. This means you won’t be tied down anywhere and you won’t be financially restricted to one place if you decide to move elsewhere. The costs of buying a home aren’t just limited to the initial down payment and mortgage repayments. You’ll also need to pay your utility bills alongside covering the costs of repairs, fixing up your home and taxes, as well as having an emergency fund in case something in your home goes wrong. So if you’ve paid off your student loans, you’ll have the budget to allocate to these things.