All Forum Posts by: Giovanni D Midili

Is anybody else from Tri-Cities,Washington and would be interested in a weekly/monthly meet-up?

Thank you all for the great advice.  I'm still figuring out the formatting of the forum so I'm sorry if this isn't the right way to reply!

My federal student loans are around 4% (0% for now..) and my private loans are between 5%-7%.  

I think I like the idea of paying down the private loans because they don't amount to much.  And I also like the idea of splitting the remaining money to both invest and pay down the debt.

Hi,

My name is Giovanni and I'm a 30-year-old single dad to a 6-year-old daughter. I currently have about $80k in tax-advantaged accounts (401k, Roth IRA, HSA) and as of last year I've maxed out those accounts. Additionally, I invest $200 per month to a 529 account for my daughter's future academic endeavors. I also have roughly $10k in savings for an emergency fund, etc.

My gross income is $137,000 +periodic varying bonuses.  I have student debt amounting to about $60,000.  $44,000 of this debt is federal and currently isn't subject to interest rates due to the government putting a hold on this.

Without getting into the nitty gritty, I've got about $1000-$1500 per month of "extra money" (Mindy would hate me for saying that).  This "extra" money is after I pay the minimums of my student loans, car payment, mortgage payment, utilities/electricity, etc.  I also leave myself about $1000 per month to account for varying expenses such as groceries, gas, gym memberships, doctors appointments, and of course other varying costs that come along with being a single dad!

My question is this: Should I aggressively be paying off the student loans before I start investing?  Or should I just continue paying the minimums and use this money to invest in either a brokerage account or real estate.  I've kind of gotten the real estate bug thanks to the many books recommended on the podcast.  

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.  I feel very fortunate to be in this position where I have adjusted my lifestyle over the last year or so to allow myself to live frugally and free up some extra money.  I've come to terms with the fact that I'll be "rich" when I turn 59.5 but I want to start developing wealth in my younger years to potentially consider coasting or retiring early in my 50's.

Thank you!

Giovanni M.