Here's the actual order I recommend for putting money to work, based on the math and not on what feels intuitive.

1. Contribute to your 401k up to the full employer match — this is an instant guaranteed return equal to the match percentage and nothing beats it.
2. Pay off any debt above 7% APR — the guaranteed savings exceed expected investment returns.
3. Max your HSA if you have an eligible high-deductible health plan — triple tax advantage, unbeatable.
4. Max your Roth IRA (or backdoor Roth if above income limits).
5. Increase 401k contributions to the annual max.
6. Invest in a taxable brokerage for anything beyond.

Debt in the 4-6% range is genuinely ambiguous — some people pay it off for psychological clarity, others invest the difference. Both are defensible. The wrong choice is doing neither.