The reason Why I SAVE instead of paying off debt is.....

Originally Posted by autoxer

Instead of focusing on the balance of my savings account, I focus on my Net Worth. When I do that, it doesn't matter if I put the money in savings or put it towards debt, because either way will increase my Net Worth. Reducing liabilities feels as satisfying as increasing assets.

That is such a great way to look at it Autoxer.

Build a small hedge to protect you from using anymore credit and get rid of the debt.

I also appreciate another poster's point about not ignoring small rate debt because it's small rate. It's easy to just make the minimums and not think about it but you still end up paying quite a packet in interest anyway because of the time involved.

My only personal addition would be not to dilly-dally around with it. Don't let the repayment plan drag on and on, get it done with.

Or to borrow a phrase from my less than refined military brat upbringing...either s### or get off the pot.

[Wealthizfreedom]

It would be great to get rid of the debt fast, but you only have one CC and student loan. I personally save for retirement, save for emergencies and pay off my debts at the same time. Eventually your savings will exceed any debts you have and then you can blow out your debt and still have significant savings.

Also, if you run a retirement calculator you will see what a difference even 1 year makes in total return. Plus any company matches in a 401k makes a big diffrence. Time is money!

[Ima saver]

I wonder how he is doing?

[Broken Arrow]

Yeah, I mean even if we all can't agree, I hope this discussion hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for saving. That's certainly a wonderful quality to have, no matter what one decides to do with their money....

Originally Posted by Wealthizfreedom

Plus any company matches in a 401k makes a big diffrence. Time is money!

and I believe that has been covered and supported by nearly everyone posting in the thread. always do what you have to in order to get the match before anything else.

[shadon]

Originally Posted by Savingmonster

I also have $20,000 student loans. I finally got around to setting up a plan where I pay $100 a month (I was avoiding it), which was incredibly dumb. I don't wanna pay any more that 100 bucks a month. I did all this work in school, I deserve to have something. My plan is to have about 70k plus in savings, then I can pay off the school loans a little bit more agressively (maybe 3-4k yr). I'll prob save 70k in about 3-4 yrs I think.

Apologies if this has already been said, I read half the posts and skimmed the rest

What about save $50000 over 3-4 years and pay $20000 on loan over that same 3-4 years. $50k is still a sizeable chunk of change and the student loan will get (almost?) eradicated at the same time. Get a 0% CC for the o/s CC balance and work out repayment plan to have that paid off before expiry. Does this make sense or have I missed something?