So since discovering the concept of FI I've been constantly reading blogs, listening to podcasts, etc trying to optimize my strategy. The past two months I've maxed my HSA and have been dumping everything else into debt. Doing this I've now finished off my only remaining high interest rate debt (8.5%) and am left with just Student Loans (4.37%) and my mortgage (4.25%). I started dumping everything into the student loan, but I'm thinking it makes sense to invest part of my savings instead of allocating 100% to debt.
So that leads to my question. I'm considering maxing a traditional IRA ($500/month) and THEN putting the rest towards debt. However, my company doesn't offer an IRA option (we have a 401k, but no match and there's an extra 0.7% management fee, so I think it makes more sense to max an IRA first).
Therefore I have set one up myself through Vanguard. The problem is, since it's not through my employer, I can't have the money withdrawn pre-tax, and have to make post-tax contributions. I understand that this will mean I can use the contributions as a line item deduction come tax return time, but I hate the idea of that money sitting with Uncle Sam all year.
My question is this: Should I increase my filing number by one to reduce my tax withholdings while I contribute to a Traditional IRA with post tax money? This way I'm having less taken out of each paycheck, and instead of getting a big return next year, I'd net closer to zero (theoretically). Then again, maybe I'm misunderstanding this whole thing. Any advice is greatly appreciated!