@Alex Kosley while I kind-of understand where people are coming from on the knee-jerk reaction of "pay-off debt, all debt, first, NOW" it is simply not an accurate answer.
See, I have this little thing called DISCIPLINE. And while I know oh-so-many do not possess this trait in any way shape or form, I refuse to believe I am the only with this "super-power".
So I am going to assume you share this "super-power" with me, and with that the answer is obvious to me; pay-off your debt and get debt free WITH investing in real estate. I will explain:
What you can do in your situation given the #'s is a little game I like to play of Segregation of Monies. Yes, you could devote capital to paying off-debt to then, at some later date get going but at what cost? TIME, the most valuable resource we have, because one only get's so much of it and can never have an ounce more. So it's paramount we use it to maximum efficiency, right.
I would first look at my personal lifestyle and see what I and the Misses could agree to on a 5yr plan for getting our personal spending as minimized, and budget regimented as possible, to create maximum net capital from our active working.
Than, vs debt paydown, I would consistently stock-pile, and than DEPLOY that capital, to be working for me. That acheives portfolio BUILDING, which will do long term wealth creation.
Now, being disciplined, I would make sure I aquire property at a more sizable down, to create an inflated cash-flow return. Why? Ok, again being disciplined, I am (a) making 1,000% sure the cash-flow amply covers all costs in totality so there is no draw on my working income from the portfolio. And than because every quarter, again being disciplined, the properties are my "little workers" paying down my debt with their net profits.
So I am segregating incomes. My active income is for investing, growing portfolio, creating little $-soldiers who than, "pay-there-way" and pay down my debt.
Every added property, is doing double duty. They are "paying-there-way" in the immediacy, paying down my debt in mid-term, and creating WEALTH in long-term.
If done correctly, using a 5yr plan to get very strategic with personal living expenses and most possibly expand active income and net from such, one should be able to build a heck of a "$-Army" who is than going forward making significant dent's in debt month-after-month year-after-year and beyond.
When pay off debt with capital, that's it, it's done, gone, poof, nothing more for rest of life from it. When acquire an asset that is paying on our debt, it just keeps chugging away and once debt is gone it keeps on going, now giving us added income.
Now, if a person doesn't have discipline, if drowning in debt and without active income to "surf-the-debt" of course this wouldn't apply. But that's not what you detailed here. By the #'s, I say surf-the-hell out of it if you have the discipline to do so.
And I'd also suggest to start getting into uber-stable markets for this, Midwest, upper-Midwest, because TX has had too much and too fast a growth clip and what you need is very plain, boring, vanilla, RELIABLE, CONSISTENT, PREDICTABLE boring assets to add to your portfolio. I would say AAA-Strategy seems a perfect fit for you.
I "get" those acting from the crayon-box of simplicity in "payoff debt, get to 0, then maybe, someday, start" but truth is, for the disciplined, strategic, methodical persons, yes there is a better way that get's debt free AND builds LT wealth generation all at same time.
Ever hear about that person who saved there way to being a millionaire? Nope, me either.
