Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:56:56 -0500
From: Mike 
Newsgroups: misc.invest.financial-plan
Subject: Re: Debt repayment or savings/invest?
   posting-account=ps2QrAMAAAA6_jCuRt2JEIpn5Otqf_w0
	iQBVAwUARsW3OPl/I4+O31e5AQEUNQIAq7YFNqT8WFhXm0C6iskm89pnG+9brSBt
	TEiMaFjCoz2P7k9kpmsKmiWYRQyFVGvzdS1IBaxudI1PF2zLc6qcHg==
	=kaTs
Bytes: 4621

On Aug 16, 5:31 pm, joetaxpayer  wrote:
> Mike wrote:
> > My debt is structured like so:
> > $7,000 - credit cards >>>>>GONE BY JANUARY
> > $33,000 - personal loan (0% interest for life, paying $500/mo, owed to
> > a family member
> > who's not too concerned with it being paid back early)
> > $55,000 - student loans (3.35% interest (locked in), paying $290/mo)
> > $112,000 - mortgage (6.5 or 6.75% interest (not sure off the top of my
> > head, but locked
> > in), paying $1020/mo)
>
> > $1000/mo disposable
>
> First, I'd be negligent to not ask;
> What is the status of your retirement savings? 401(k) maxed? Does your
> employer or your wife's offer matching? You see, a 50% match is worth
> more than even paying down that CC debt. Even with the 401(k), do you
> fund your IRA, Roth or regular? Do you have kids? Planning to?
> If you've been lurking you know what's missing, age, marital status,
> goal for early retirement, and likely a few other tidbits.

You're right, I did leave out some details... here's the bigger
picture:

I'll be 30 in a few months.  I'm divorced, have two kids that I have
half time, and I get to claim one of them each year on taxes.  I also
have a live-in girlfriend and her daughter, both of which I claim come
tax time too, but our finances are separate.  Not planning to have any
more kids.

I've made some dumb moves on my retirement savings in the past, having
cashed out some 401k's when leaving jobs (I know, I know). So my
retirement savings with my current company is a little over $3k,
putting in just 3% which is the max my company will match (100%).  I
have no other retirement savings, and I have just over $1k in the bank
for a mini-emergency fund.

The mortgage is actually a 30 year that I just got last month, the
1020/mo includes Insurance & Taxes.

The family member who loaned me the money and I have a healthy
relationship ;) And paying off my debt is definitely a goal, however,
that debt alone will be paid off in 5.5 years just making the normal
payments.  It's the 30yr mortgage and 30yr student loans
(consolidated) that I'm worried about.

Thanks again for everyone's time.
Mike