After a week of googling, I am now thoroughly confused and could use some help with what to do with my income in 2014. 2013 was a bit tight with a new house and way too much travel, but I expect to have ~$20,000 to work with after living expenses and taxes in 2014. I am self-employed (1099, sole-proprietor) and should clear somewhere between $70k and $85k next year. I am married with a 2 year old son if that affects my taxes in some way.
Retirement accounts:
etrade Rollover IRA: ~$20k
trowe price SEP-IRA: ~$20k
(I know this is pitiful for a 30 year old programmer, but I spent most of my 20s in grad school or working for nonprofits)
Debts:
student loans: $22k at 6.5%
mortgage: $148k at 3.25%, $1400/month thanks to high property taxes.
I basically have two questions.
1) Do I pay down debt or throw money at my retirement account(s)?
At 3.25% I know the mortgage principle isn't worth paying down, but the student loans are pretty obnoxious. A guaranteed 6.5% return is nice, but I'm thinking the combined tax deduction of student loan interest and retirement contributions gets me a better return.
2) Which retirement account should I use?
The etrade account is mostly individual stocks ("danger will robinson!"), while the troweprice is a couple of crappy funds. I have been looking at opening an account with Vanguard as I have seen recommended round here. To complicate matters, the Vanguard website recommends a Solo 401k for me as it should have the highest contribution limits.
Thanks for your help.