With that income, you are squarely in the 25% federal bracket, and depending on where you live another few % in state taxes (somewhere in the midwest, is my guess).
If you maximize 401k's, that gives you 114k in pre-tax income (150 - 18 - 18), which in Illinois (I think ~4% state tax) would leave you with ~7k in aftertax income.
Even if you are barely frugal at all, in most midwest cities (except probably Chicago), you could probably land a:
- 1 or 2br for ~$1,500/mo
- Add in $500 for food
- $400 (200 x 2) for 2 cheap car leases
- $300 for gas/maint./car ins.
- $300 for health ins, life, etc.
- $700 being stupid and spending a LOT eating out and at bars
= 1.5 + .5 + .4 + .3 + .3 + .7 = 3.7k in total expenses (excluding debt)
Now, let's also say you get robbed once a month for $300 like clockwork on the first of each month. That brings your total expenses to 4k/mo for living and stuff, with a solid amount of wiggle room.
http://www.paycheckcity.com/cokronos/netpayCalcResult.aspBased on 114k pretax and 2 allowances (federal and state), you make 7k/mo take home. After spending 4k, you have 3k left over to save and/or pay off debt.
I'm not sure what your loan structure is, but let's call it 127k @ 5%, meaning you pay 6.35k ($530/mo) in interest. This will decline slowly each month as your balance decreases, but let's just assume it stays around the same. If you pay the full 3k/mo, that means ~2.5k is going toward paydown. 30k/yr reduction in the amount due gets you debt free in just under 4 years (30 x 4 = 120), a few months more quickly due to the interest shrinking each month).
Based on the above example, maximize the 401k's NOW. Keep putting the max toward them. Seems you are both in well paying careers given you make 70k+ each right out of school, so maybe you even get 3% raises each year, that helps a bit too. The acceleration of contributing to 401k's fully for 4 years will likely be better than trying to get out of debt ASAP.
Hope this helps!
Oh, btw, that 36k you put into your 401k starting in 2016 - 2022 (age 30) should be at least $300k by your 30th birthdays, assuming a 6% annual return, or a fairly moderate conservative investment allocation. This excludes any additional savings once the debt is paid off.
- - 36,000 36,000
36,000 2,160 36,000 74,160
74,160 4,450 36,000 114,610
114,610 6,877 36,000 157,486
157,486 9,449 36,000 202,935
202,935 12,176 36,000 251,111
251,111 15,067 36,000 302,178
Fortunately, your debt is not crippling your cash flow. Far from it. You make enough to fully contribute to 401k, maybe even a bit left over for Roth accounts for both of you (I'd confirm the income limit first), and still be debt free within ~4 years. Then, start saving for a house, invest more and keep renting, upgrade your lifestyle (just a bit) to maybe a home, or whatever you want.
Happy Sunday! :)