hi all.. interesting reading..
i think asb loan is good.. some other benefits apart from the obvious mentioned previously :
1. this loan also works as your insurance policy (mrta).. yes, you pay interest for your mrta.. but if anything happened to you before full payment, your beneficiary will get full amount.. just like housing loan mrta..
2. compound interest works for you! as annual dividend based on loan amount + previous years dividend (if you dont take out the dividend la).. which also translates that you'll be able to pay your loan amount in less than half loan period..
3. its a riskfree 'forced' savings for me..

i also agree on diversifying as each serves for different purpose (short/long term, protection etc).. property investment is also interesting..

i thought vergas spreadsheet is ok.. or not? the dividend collected this year, if kept will also earn dividend the next year.. one thing major difference between via loan vs own payment is you get to enjoy/use the big dividend (i.e 7% x $50k) in the first year..

i have one question though.. anyone knows what is the penalty fee if we decided to terminate the loan halfway?