Focus on student loan?

londoner2019

Hello, posting here to soundboard/get some viewpoints.

Current situation:
- No CC debt
- Currently able to put away an extra 500 a month (plan for next 10 months is to build a 3k pot as a month's buffer, and a 2k holiday fund (already have 500 here)) - this will take me to my end of March pay (end of tax year)
- I'm self employed, and have got a 12 month rolling contract that goes to mid-Feb 2024. Very unlikely, but not impossible, that this would not get renewed (worst case scenario)
-- But this does mean that I know exactly what my 2023/24 self assessment tax return will look like. (Also factored in personal pension tax relief). I'm already putting aside the exact amount (to the penny) of income tax, NICs and student loan repayments - all of this is going into a savings account on a monthly basis (that pays 3.3%).

My student loan currently sits at just under 7000. Around 500 will get knocked off in January from last year's self assessment tax return. If I do nothing at all, the interest (plan 1, 5.25% at the moment) will be around 300 over the next 10 months. From my earnings, I'll be saving up 4200 for student loan repayments, leaving me with around 2600 balance.

My question: should I try and save up that 2600 and put it all in the student loan to get rid as quick as possible? Should I pay it off completely in the next month or two to reduce that interest payment, and then build up my tax bill pot with the money I'm already budgeting? 

I know that in the grand scheme 300 interest is not a wild amount, and that student loans don't need to be repaid if I'm not earning. But the likelihood is that I'll be earning enough to pay it all off by the second half of 2024 anyway, so the latter point is less important for me.

I guess the main thing is that if I'm paying off the loan, I'm delaying building up a safety net pot and holiday pot by 4-5 months.

Trying not to fret about this too much but since I've got on the straight and narrow finance wise I'm trying to be more savvy and in control.

kimwp

Priority is probably the safety pot. Then it's up to you whether you want to save for a holiday or save on interest. 

londoner2019

Thanks! Totally right, I need to stop trying to tweak my long-term plan every other week and stop overthinking it