What is your top financial priority?

[sweeps]

I've been saving a lot for retirement, but my new top priority is saving for a bigger house. We just don't have the space anymore.

What is your top financial priority?

[Snoopy2645]

Mine is to pay off the mortgage once that is done hopefully soon I will then start looking for a different bigger house I moved into this house just my dd & I now Its me & my 3 daughters & my DH & my 2 dogs to say the least we have outgrown this house & thier is no way to add on so I hope to move soon

[miclason]

I'm so deep in debt, I cannot even think of putting money aside for anything else. Right now, I want to reach a place/time when I can actually afford to set money aside for my daughter's education...this means I have to find a way to get rid of debt as fast as I can, as Ale has to go to school next year - and education is VERY expensive in ES.

[jmjj215]

Working on the house downpayment...

[robex]

I put retirement...it's more of financial independence. I want enough money in an account where if we choose to never work again, we don't have to!

I would also love the house to be paid off. We owe about 90k on our mortgage.

[Christine2Save]

relieving credit card debt, and saving for a downpayment on a home.

[flash]

At 30, I could not beging to scrape together a down payment and was still paying off college, etc.

Since we retired at 40, the priority is definitely determining a budget and sticking to it. Saving the money was one thing, keeping it is another. That money has to last a LONG time!

[dealsaver]

I suppose if you make "getting filthy rich" your top priority, all the other financial priorities will fall in place nicely.

[flash]

Pardon me?

[bebe]

Mine is saving for retirement. i figure 5 mil will do.

cambece, Peabody Law

[seaar2000]

Paying my car off sooner than 5 years. Don't want to put my financial life on hold for a car.

[jmjj215]

Why wasn't one of the options: Make More Money

that can have a pretty positive effect on finances as well

[FrugalTexan75]

My top financial priority is making enough money to pay the bills every month. Once I have a steady, permenant job again, then paying off my credit card, putting money away in savings (emergency fund, irregular fund, and house downpayment) will be my biggest priorities.

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

[jodi]

Our biggest priority is saving for retirement. I know we are starting a lot earlier than many 20-somethings, but if you can just sock it away now it will grow so much. After we put the max into our Roths each year, any additional money goes toward paying down student loans. After those are paid off (not anytime soon though...) then we will pay down the car (it has a lower interest rate).
We were saving for a house, but not really finding anything we liked better than our current situation (living with relative and sharing expenses). So we just kept that money aside for an emergency fund, which is good since DH is now a full-time student and we are living on one small income.

[ender513]

My biggest priority right now is paying off my students loans (Dec. 2007? maybe? hopefully) . . . I would rank retirement and general savings as pretty high up there too.

Paying down debt is my biggest goal though

[abowers]

I have several priorities...
--Currently paying undergrad loans off, with an interest rate of 2.7% (I just graduated in May, consolidated, and started repayment in August - over 15 years, but the payments are so low I will be finishing that well before 2020) -
--As of October I have a car payment over 5 years with an interest rate of 3.9% (that I plan on paying off in less than 5 years) -
--And I have some credit cards I'd like to pay down.
That's what I'm working on right now. BUT - I am hoping to start grad school in the Summer of 2006, finish in the Spring of 2009 and start work as a School Psychologist. Then I will have plenty of money to pay for the student loans and car, and can focus on something bigger like a down payment for a house.

[JBinKC]

To be prepared for an economic disaster.

[PrincessPerky]

I put CC, but only cause I already have a workable budget, not perfect, but workable.

Once that is done it will be split between 'grown up stuff' (like retirement or life insurance) and 'kid stuff' (like the vacation to DC DS has been asking for)

[Jason]

All of the above...I selected credit card debt. Next would be paying off the college loan

[BCompDude]

I put saving for retirement, but I'd classify it as more "general" saving. Can never have too much money sitting in reserve afterall.

If I had debt that would be my first priority. I'm also planning on going back to school, so I have to save for that as well.