Is >6% interest rate debt always a priority before IRA?

[deek]

Is there any reason at all to start putting money in an IRA before/while paying off student debt over 6%?
Or does it make the most sense to just start putting a bunch of savings towards that debt?

[Raenia]

6% isn't awful, I'd say it's right around the tipping point.  If it were me, I'd probably fund your IRA first.  If the rates were closer to 7%, I'd maybe come down on the side of debt payoff first.

The usual recommendation is to pay off debt >5%+Treasury Yield (see more here) first, then fund your IRA and 401k/403b if applicable, then pay off lower interest debt.

Edit to fix typo.

[ingrownstudentloans]

Is there any reason at all to start putting money in an IRA before/while paying off student debt over 6%?
Or does it make the most sense to just start putting a bunch of savings towards that debt?

have you tried to refinance the student loans?  I got mine down significantly with SoFi (my referral code: sofi.com/share/19204)  you get $$ and I get $$ if you use it :)

Agree it is on the edge of payoff aggressively before funding IRA...

[ketchup]

I'd say it depends what tax bracket you're in.  If you're saving 25% in taxes by contributing to the IRA, it'd be a pretty hard sell for me to pay off a 6% loan (interest deductible if you itemize?).

[deek]

I really am not well versed at all with anything taxes :/ - My mom is an accountant and handles all of it for me.
How do I get an idea of how much I would save in taxes? I haven't opened my IRA yet - still trying to decide if Vanguard is my best option.. another thing I'm not quite sure how to determine.

EDIT: Looks like I'm in the 15% bracket for 2017. 12% for 2018.