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I like the advice given so far, let me add my two cents.
A few years ago (before I went back for my PhD), I was in a similar situation to you... $31k in SL and a similar salary. No car loan though. I paid off $20k of those loans before going back to school. The rate on the last one is 3.25% and thus not worth it.
My first piece of advice, put $5k into a RothIRA from your savings account. Open it with Vanguard and choose a target fund. You can take that back out if you need, but that will help with getting you up to 15% for retirement, which is too low right now (6%). You need to be saving $9,000 per year for retirement, at least. Start now, then when something changes, at least you'll have moved forward one square.
My second piece of advice, reduce the food costs - you have $700 for food and entertainment each month, that's way too much. For one person, you should be spending no more than $50 a week on groceries (and that's generous) = $200 + $40 a week on fun = $160 + $20 a week on "other stuff" = $80 + $40 a month on personal needs (TP, shampoo, soap, etc) = $480 - I'll even let you round it up to $500. The other $200 goes to the Roth starting in Jan, in the meantime, add it to the SL payments.
If you make a goal to pay off 1 student loan every 18 months, you'll be done in 4.5 years! It is hard, but doable, just make it a choice to be done.
As for the car, honestly, it's up to you - If it's a good, safe, reliable, long lasting car, just keep it. If you think it was a mistake, get rid of it now, while it's worth something.
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The short:
1. Create and fully fund a RothIRA
2. Reduce expenses, send extra money to SL, figure out exactly how much would be needed for a 6 month EF and build to that at the same time.
3. Car is up to you - get one that's safe, reliable, and will last 10 more years.
A few years ago (before I went back for my PhD), I was in a similar situation to you... $31k in SL and a similar salary. No car loan though. I paid off $20k of those loans before going back to school. The rate on the last one is 3.25% and thus not worth it.
My first piece of advice, put $5k into a RothIRA from your savings account. Open it with Vanguard and choose a target fund. You can take that back out if you need, but that will help with getting you up to 15% for retirement, which is too low right now (6%). You need to be saving $9,000 per year for retirement, at least. Start now, then when something changes, at least you'll have moved forward one square.
My second piece of advice, reduce the food costs - you have $700 for food and entertainment each month, that's way too much. For one person, you should be spending no more than $50 a week on groceries (and that's generous) = $200 + $40 a week on fun = $160 + $20 a week on "other stuff" = $80 + $40 a month on personal needs (TP, shampoo, soap, etc) = $480 - I'll even let you round it up to $500. The other $200 goes to the Roth starting in Jan, in the meantime, add it to the SL payments.
If you make a goal to pay off 1 student loan every 18 months, you'll be done in 4.5 years! It is hard, but doable, just make it a choice to be done.
As for the car, honestly, it's up to you - If it's a good, safe, reliable, long lasting car, just keep it. If you think it was a mistake, get rid of it now, while it's worth something.
------------
The short:
1. Create and fully fund a RothIRA
2. Reduce expenses, send extra money to SL, figure out exactly how much would be needed for a 6 month EF and build to that at the same time.
3. Car is up to you - get one that's safe, reliable, and will last 10 more years.
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