Paying off student loan debt could be a financial mistake says Wendy Connick for the Motley Fool and CNN Money.

Basic argument is that this is good debt and bad debt. She believes the diffence between good debt and bad debt is the amount of interest a consumer pays. For instance, bad debt is credit card debt that is 18%. Good debt is a mortgage that may be around 4.25%. Student loan interest rates hover around 6% for Government backed student loans. Ms. Connick says that student loan debt is good debt because it has a lower interest rate. She encourages Texas consumers to pay other debts off first before paying off their student loans.

Student loan debt should be paid aggressively despite having a lower interest rate.

First, despite home loan programs allowing for college graduates to have higher debt loads, the fact that you have a massive student loan payment each month lessens the amount of a home that you can purchase. The higher your student loan payment, the less home you can afford. In Texas, home prices are rising fast. Those with student loans are being priced out of the market for the homes they want to buy. They have a better chance of qualifying for the home loan with out having a large student loan payment each month.

Second, government backed student loans are eligible for programs that can help pay down the balance faster. Income Based Repayment, Income Contingent Repayment, and REPAYSE are some programs that can be used for student loan forgiveness and paying off faster.  By more aggressively paying off student loans, consumers can purchase higher priced homes.