The general rule is that using spare cash to overpay a mortgage or pay off your other debts is often much more profitable than bog-standard saving. That’s because debts usually cost more than savings earn, so cancel them out and you're better off.

Yet it's not that simple. If you have an ISA you could be earning some decent rates on your savings, some mortgages and loans have over-payment penalties and some credit card debts cost nothing as they're at 0%. Or, quite simply, you may also want an emergency fund.

Should I pay off my debts with savings?

Those with both debts and savings are seriously overspending. The solution is simple; pay the debts off before you save, maybe even including your mortgage. And forget the old-style ‘must have an emergency savings fund' logic, getting rid of debts beats that too.

The reason is simple. Someone with £1,000 of debt on a high street credit card is paying roughly £180 a year, yet £1,000 in a top savings account is earning just £40. By paying off the debt with the savings you save £140 a year.

For a step-by-step guide, including the exceptions, read Martin’s full Should I Pay Off Debts With Savings? guide.

Should I pay off my mortgage with savings?

The difference between mortgages and other debts is the interest rates tend to be much lower. Here the rule is simple; if the mortgage rate is higher than the after-tax interest rate from savings, you should pay it off.

Yet here, the problem is once it’s in your mortgage you can’t always get the cash back; and not all mortgages will allow you to repay early.

For a step-by-step guide, including a ‘should I repay? calculator’, read Martin’s full Should I Pay Off My Mortgage? guide.

Should I pay off my student loan with savings?

The answer, quite simply, is ‘no’. Don't pay off your student loan more quickly than you need to. Student loans are one of the cheapest forms of long-term debt so by paying them off early you risk needing more expensive borrowing from elsewhere at a later date.

For a full step-by-step guide read Martin’s full Should I Pay Off My Student Loan? article.