P

Personal Finance

— Building wealth and financial literacy
31 members Created Jun 2026

The one spreadsheet that runs my entire financial life

27 years old, $42k in federal student loans at 6.5% average interest. I just started my first job making $58k. I'm genuinely overwhelmed. Where does someone even start?

Here's what I've done so far: opened a checking account at a credit union, signed up for income-driven repayment on my loans, and enrolled in my 401k up to the employer match (3%).

What I'm confused about: do I throw everything at the loans, start a Roth IRA, or do both? I don't have an emergency fund yet. I feel like I need to do twelve things at once and don't know which is most important.

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