I've been reading the blog and forum for several months now, but this is my first post. I've read a lot of these case studies, but I wanted to throw out a "what would you do" in an effort to get other options for a forthcoming situation. I'll outline some stats below, but essentially my wife will be starting a new job soon, and we've learned to live off my income alone over the past several years. With this new income I wanted to get your feedback on what you would do -
All numbers are per month
Income -
$4,800 take home (not including rental income described below)
Investments -
$1,200 goes into a 401k (both my and my company's matches combined)
We do own a house that we now rent - $100k on mortgage, and rental income covers all expenses + a couple hundred/month
Debts -
No CC debt - paid in full monthly
No car loans
Student loans - combined minimum payment of $493, ~30k total outstanding: $2,200 basically interest free, 1 loan of $3k @ ~6% and everything else between 2%-3%
Total expenses -
Excluding the rental mortgage (since that is covered by income not included in the $4,800 above) our total expense are ~$3,700 (We live in downtown DC and our $1,900 rent expense is virtually inescapable in our location)
At this point I contribute just what is necessary to receive the full match to my 401k at work. And we are able to put back ~$1k/month into savings beyond that and still live very comfortably. When my wife begins working she will bring home an additional ~$2,600 each month. My question pertains to whether you think we should start paying off the student loans (interest is mostly very low at <3%) or the mortgage on our rental house (3.25%), max out both 401k plans (she will be eligible too, but with no employer match for the first year of employment) or invest in other places. Our total household salary will be ~$128k when she begins working, plus we receive an additional $14k per year from the rental, so I know our tax liability/benefits as it pertains to 401k will likely be impacted.
Thanks for any help you all can provide. If more detailed stats are necessary I can help.
I should add, that I'm not necessarily looking to retire early, but am looking into building wealth.