I’m an engineer with $140k in student debt and $70k in savings. Should I pay it off or keep investing?

6 hours ago 5

Danielle Liverance

Wed, May 27, 2026 astatine 10:15 AM CDT 4 min read

An engineering postgraduate called into The Ramsey Show with a question millions of professionals face: "I person astir $140,000 from my engineering grade that I got. I'm successful pupil indebtedness debt. I built up astir $70,000 betwixt my savings and my brokerage account." He admitted the hostility retired loud: "The numbers benignant of accidental agelong word I'd marque much wealth if I would permission it invested, but you're reasoning astir it retired and wage disconnected my debt."

Co-host Jade Warshaw didn't blink. "Listen, I'm gonna instrumentality that wealth each azygous clip and usage it to wage disconnected debt," she said, arguing that "your income is the biggest wealthiness gathering instrumentality you have." Dave Ramsey chopped to the punchline: "You're conscionable holding the bank's 70 expansive for them."

Quick Read

Federal nonstop unsubsidized postgraduate pupil loans transportation 7%-9% involvement rates portion the 10-year Treasury output sits astir 4.6%, making indebtedness paydown the mathematically superior prime for astir engineering graduates. High-yield savings accounts presently connection meaningful returns portion providing the exigency liquidity cushion needed earlier aggressively paying down principal.
Freeing up $1,500+ monthly pupil indebtedness payments instantly improves currency travel resilience during economical uncertainty, wherever user sentiment is adjacent recessionary lows and the nationalist idiosyncratic savings complaint has dropped to 4%.
A caller survey identified 1 azygous wont that doubled Americans’ status savings and moved status from dream, to reality. Read much here.

The stakes are real. Get the mathematics incorrect and you torch tens of thousands of dollars implicit the loan's life, oregon you permission yourself 1 layoff distant from selling investments astatine the worst clip to marque a payment.

Read: Data Shows One Habit Doubles American’s Savings And Boosts Retirement

Most Americans drastically underestimate however overmuch they request to discontinue and overestimate however prepared they are. But information shows that people with 1 habit person much than treble the savings of those who don’t.

The verdict: Pay down the indebtedness aggressively

The axenic mathematics supports the affectional argument. Federal nonstop unsubsidized loans for postgraduate students person been issued astatine astir 7% to 9% successful caller years, with Grad PLUS loans adjacent higher. Engineering grads often transportation a blended complaint successful that range. The 10-year Treasury output is astir 4.6%. The Fed Funds precocious bound sits astatine 3.75%. The risk-free complaint is good beneath a emblematic grad pupil indebtedness rate.

Run the scenario. If your indebtedness complaint is 8% and you support $70,000 invested expecting a long-run banal instrumentality of astir 7% aft taxes, you're paying guaranteed 8% involvement to pursuit a probabilistic 7%. Over a 10-year payoff window, that dispersed compounds into existent money. The guaranteed involvement savings beats the expected marketplace instrumentality successful astir modeled outcomes without volatility risk.

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