Just to get it out of the way, I did read the wiki. I guess I’m just confused because I have a lot of options and some might be more financially beneficial in the long run, even if they’re not obvious.
Basically I’m pretty comfortable financially right now, with my car paid off and rent pretty reasonable. I use YNAB religiously and even with a decent amount budgeted for eating out, hobbies, etc. I save about $800/month +/-$200 depending on big events. When I graduate I can expect to find a position that pays a reasonable amount more but I’m not sure if I’ll be renting a nicer place or something else that’ll cost more so I’m not accounting for that yet. I’m in NJ so medium cost of living?
I’ve got about $21k in student loans, will probably have about $26k when I graduate if I take more for my last year in college that’s coming up. It’s about 50/50 subsidized/subsidized but it’s all federal so the interest rates are pretty solid. I paid off my private loans a couple years back.
I’ve got $4k saved up right now, pending a transfer to my Ally Interest Savings account that’ll get me 1% interest I think, a bit better than I’m doing with PNC now but still losing money because inflation.
So I’m currently planning to grow my Ally savings into a 6-month emergency fund (which will take another 2 months). After that I don’t know if I should put everything towards student loans, prepare to pay x/month of them and put the rest towards a Roth IRA/401k/other investment fund, or something else. I could also not take additional loans and just pay out of pocket for my last year of school, though the loans will be subsidized if I do take them. Could use some feedback! Thanks!
