Hello all,
I found MMM blog a couple days ago and have been reading it religiously ever since. I am 22 years old, recent graduate from a public university, and graduated with about $50k in student loans. Had a few scholarships, but it was overshadowed by the big out-of-state tuition I paid for the first two years in school (I became a resident in my junior year which saved an annual $15k).
As far as my loan goes, here are the approximate amounts and their interest rates:
-Federal: $11k (3.8%), $3500 (4.5%), $6000 (6.8%)
-Private (WF): $20k (8.24%)
-Mom: She paid off about $10k herself, which I will have to repay to her within 10 years.
And also some of my monthly living expenses:
-Housing: $375 rent, $15 for utilities
-Food: $50-100 (my girlfriend has food stamps so that helps a lot).
-Phone: $30
-Eating out: $50
-Entertainment: $100-150
I have no car and don't plan to get one anytime soon since Seattle has great public transportation.
I just got a job in the tech industry starting off at about $40k a year with great potential to move up within the first couple years. My original plan was to buckle down and just pay off this debt within a couple years, but after reading this blog and speaking to my grandpa (who is a very aggressive investor), I'm starting to think that maybe I would be better off investing my money in a Vanguard index fund, particularly the VTSMX, and also maybe some safe individual stocks.
So should I plan to pay down my student loans as quickly as possible, invest in Vanguard index funds (VTSMX), or do a little of both? I am new to investing so I would appreciate any tips/advice!