Student loan paid off! What now?

msallen

You don't sound as though you have much of an emergency fund. I would be building that up first.

DiggerUK

daveofstoft said:

1) Has anyone invested in Gold via the sort of thing from the Royal Mint? Any good?
2) Anyone ever been in a similar situation and what have you done to invest for the future?

Funny you should ask about gold, I'm MSE's self appointed, opinionated, unelected expert on gold, so all questions answered.
Royal Mint are a boutique gold outfit, silly prices. Best to go with dealers recommended here by me and others. My dealer of choice is Atkinson's of Sutton Coldfield. 

I have also used Bairds/Goldline, Coins Invest Direct, Elm Investments Bristol and Hatton Garden Metals. Buy from whoever is cheapest, UK legal tender is tax free buying and selling.
We have all our retirement savings in gold, no regrets. As a pointer, if you had started buying gold at its last price spike in September 2011 and continued on a regular monthly basis since then, you would have averaged £954 per ounce. The price today is £1400. 

As a teacher you should be in the teachers pension, I hope you are. One of best schemes going.

In your position only carry 'cash in hand' rainy day, max £6000. With IR's so poor you may as well keep in your PB's. No real need to have such funds anyway as far as I'm concerned.

Make all the overpayments you can on your mortgage asap, your securing a risk free asset. No use retiring early with a mortgage still to pay off..._

Ceme3000

You specifically mentioned shaving a few years off your retirement.  What are the terms for early retirement with your Teachers pension?  Can you make extra contributions? 
If the early retirement terms are not favourable you could consider a SIPP that you could use as a bridging pension, you could access this from age 57 until you receive your Teachers pension.