Hopefully this is the right forum for this (i wasnt sure if it fit here or the investor forum more)! I've been out of grad school and working for a little under a year now, and i figured its more than time to get serious about figuring out how to invest/adhering to a budget and so forth (thank you mint.com for the budget help!)
Basically, ive got no credit card debt or mortgage, though I do have a moderate car loan and a giganto pile of student loan debt (since I work in a non-profit, i've actually calculated ill have far more of it forgiven than paid heh. A nice bonus since the job doesnt pay all that well).
I've been socking away 10% of my pre-tax income in my job's 403(b) plan (and they will start matching up to that 10% at the end of the year), and i've been dropping 100 dollars a month into betterment.com mostly because it was a no think sorta thing to do. I've got a thousand in betterment, and a few thousand in a generic savings account (which reading this forum has given me the sense of it being a bad place to sock money).
Anyway, mostly im looking for some advice on where to put what free income i have, and how to get started with some serious savings (on a not horrible but not that impressive of a salary). Should i be opening an IRA? Trying to invest (but not in a retirement account) with someone like Vanguard? Trying to max out that 403 more? Something else? Any advice you all had in helping me make an educated decision would be great.