09-25-2008, 08:32 PM
I faced a similar kerfuffle (I love that word :wiggle
in the past with my student loans. It came down to my paying off my student loans before getting my emergency fund. That was "my comfort level" or "following my gut", and that is what won out in the verbal war in my head about the situation. I worried more about the monstrous debt (4 different student loans with the highest interest rate @ 16.5% and the lowest at 9%, from the 80's) than I did the lack of safety net. It gnawed away at me to think of paying the lender that much interest when I had money in a money market or similar safe investment at a much lower interest rate.
There are experts who would argue either side of decision, just as you are. You gotta go with the decision that you can sleep with (or live with). That was how I made up my mind.
in the past with my student loans. It came down to my paying off my student loans before getting my emergency fund. That was "my comfort level" or "following my gut", and that is what won out in the verbal war in my head about the situation. I worried more about the monstrous debt (4 different student loans with the highest interest rate @ 16.5% and the lowest at 9%, from the 80's) than I did the lack of safety net. It gnawed away at me to think of paying the lender that much interest when I had money in a money market or similar safe investment at a much lower interest rate.There are experts who would argue either side of decision, just as you are. You gotta go with the decision that you can sleep with (or live with). That was how I made up my mind.