Is it a better strategy to pay off one student loan at a time, or increase payments to all student loans in equal distributions each month?

I agree with 's answer. I'm currently using the snowball method on my student loans (some private lenders like Citi and the rest Federal). I started paying off the smallest first. Everyone has different ways of doing this and no one way is correct. Of course, the snowball method (for me, anyway) has two really great advantages: 1. Psychologically and emotionally, it makes me feel that I'm doing something about my debt. Even if I am able to pay off $1000 here and work on the next one, it makes me feel as if I'm getting something accomplished. 2. Perhaps more important is the fact that as I pay off my small loans, my minimum monthly payment decreases. For example, if you have a $20K student loan with Citibank that's comprised of a bunch of smaller loans (each with its own interest rate), as you tackle each small loan you will owe less money every month. Again, everyone's case is different and this is the benefit that I have seen from using the snowball method.

At the same interest rate, at fixed rates, your main objective should be simplication. Eliminate a loan or a lender so you have less work in future. Maybe pay the smallest lender or loan off first, or consolidate. If you have any variable interest rates, consider paying them first to avoid a surprise rate in future. For most borrowers, and maybe for you, too, I have more sophisticated advice, below. From a cost-optimization standpoint, student loans tend to be separated by school year and have various interest rates. You should pay all minimum payments on time, and apply any extra payments explicitly to principal (NOT towards future payments) on the highest interest loans. Consolidating them may bring you a little simplicity, but you usually lose the ability to pay highest interest first, which could lose you a large amount of money. USA Federal student loans are further complicated by Federal laws, which means that making extra payments will not always save you money, and could cost you a large amount of benefit. If you die or become unable to work, your balance is usually forgiven. If you do public service under program rules, a portion may be forgiven. If you qualify for an income-related repayment plan, your balance may be forgiven after 25 or 30 years of making minimum payments, even if some of those minimum payments were zero. Because of those contingencies and often low interest rates, it is often optimal to pay no more than the minimum payment in student loans. Many opportunities for your money if you do not put it towards extra payments on your student loans. I would suggest paying off any higher interest loans such as mortgages, credit cards, or car loans, and making sound investments with higher expected returns, with full consideration for the tax benefits of retirement accounts, education savings accounts, ABLE accounts (in 2017), and HSAs with employer matching, pre-income contributions, tax deductions, good mutual funds, and low fees, and home ownership and sound business plans. Many of these have additional advantages in not counting much against your qualifications for additional student aid for you or your children. Check your plans with a licensed attorney or financial advisor with understanding of student aid repayment laws.

It first depends on what type of loans you have…for example fixed vs. variable rate. If they are fixed rates pay off the highest rate loan first and work backwards from there. It will save you the most in the long run. I just published a series of videos about this exact topic. You can view them at http://knowledgecenter.fitbux.com