Also, the student loans.... consider that your financial house being on fire, and put it out with your full money hose, NO diverting to investing (we can debateup-to-company-match, but certainly no more than that). until the student loan fire is point out.
The OP never said what their interest rate was, that I can tell. So, why this advice? My student loans were sub-3% and tax deductible. Why would I prioritize that?
Agreed, my student debt is at such a low interest rate, I really don't worry about it.
That said, I think taking out a HELOC to reno a place is fucking insane.
OP, don't worry about the advice you get from people, most people are in debt and terrible with money, so popular opinion on whether or not to finance a reno should not only be ignored, but vaguely seen as the likely opposite of what you should consider.
If your student debt interest is low, then it's not necessarily hair-on-fire, but you are still broke. As long as you have debt, you are broke and have no money, you only have debt.
Now, that doesn't mean that you have to live absolutely miserably until you have money, it just means that you have to view all spending from the "I'm broke" perspective.
Would you take on debt to reno a kitchen if you were a low income grad student? Obviously not. However, you might save up and do a fresh coat of paint or buy a decent sofa to make your home pleasant.
I also just bought a new home, the kitchen is hideously dated and I will eventually do something about it, but not until my debt is gone and I actually have a bunch of money to do so.
Plus, I believe in living in a space for awhile before committing to permanent changes. I've lived in so many homes and it takes time to get to know it and figure out it's flow.
Until then, I am painting and buying some amazing furniture, and will consider a new laminate countertop and new sink because the existing sink is tiiiiiiiiny, but we'll do the work ourselves.
So like others, I recommend that you determine the cause of the sag, do what you can to remedy it, and just live there for awhile before deciding what you want/need to change.
It's weird how intense the need to perfect a place feels when it's new and how unimportant these things can feel once you are comfortable in a place and familiar with it.