Hey Money Minder,

I hope I’m not breaking any rules here by reaching out! I’ve checked out the wiki a few times and think I’ve got a good handle on the personal finance basics, but I want to make sure I’m on the right track and have a solid plan.

So, I recently graduated with a BS from a public university in the US, and like many students, I had to take out around $15k in student loans. Now that I’ve finished school and my loan grace periods are ending, I want to start thinking seriously about how I’m going to tackle repayment and manage my finances as I begin adulting.

A little more about me – I’m in my early 20s, planning to go to grad school in the future but taking a gap year (or two) to get my finances in order post-college. I’ve moved back in with my parents and landed a steady job where I’ve been working full-time since summer. I’ve managed to save up some money with minimal expenses like a parking contract, gym membership, etc. I don’t have much budgeting experience beyond handling major bills during school, but I’m pretty good at living frugally, so my monthly spending is usually not too high.

Here’s a rundown of my situation – let me know if I missed anything important!

Debt:

Student Loans: ALL Federal Direct, ordered by subsidization and origination date (1-0X), interest on right (X.XXX%)

• Direct Subsidized (1-01); $2,928.00, 2.750% APR
• Direct Subsidized (1-02); $1,480.00, 3.730% APR
• Direct Subsidized (1-03); $1,900.00, 4.990% APR
• Direct Subsidized (1-05); $1,787.00, 5.500% APR
• Direct Unsubsidized (1-04); $3,868.80, 4.990% APR
• Direct Unsubsidized (1-06); $3,094.57, 5.550% APR

Credit:

• NO CURRENT OR PAST DEBT
• Credit score of around 750
• 2 lines of credit through the same CU (less than $5,000 total)

Expenses:

• Parking ($80/month)
• Gym membership ($35/month)
• Misc. subscriptions ($30/month)
• Other discretionary spending
• Spending less than 50% of monthly take-home total

Assets:

• $50,000+ salary with miscellaneous benefits
• Employer pension plan (6% covered salary contribution, 6.25% employer match)
• 403(b): 4% contributions (2% voluntary, 2% Roth)
• 457(b): offered by employer, currently not enrolled
• Less than $5,000 between savings and checking accounts
• Misc. investing account (less than $500, occasional deposits, mostly short-term trading)

After checking out the wiki rules and considering my own situation, here’s my current plan: 1) Build up an emergency fund, 2) Start repaying my loans, and 3) Think about long-term growth and investments.

I’ve been treating my current savings as my emergency fund for now, but I know I should keep growing it (at least to cover 3-6 months’ income) before moving on to the next steps. I’ve thought about high-yield savings accounts and such, but I think that can wait until after I tackle my debt, right?

For my loans, I’m looking at the SAVE plan/PSLF forgiveness (if it sticks around!) and planning to pay them off over the standard 10-year timeframe. I might be able to pay them off sooner if it makes sense, but I’ve seen some discussion about different strategies and I’m not sure what’s best. Some people suggest stretching out repayment in hopes of future forgiveness, while others say I could get a better return by investing the money instead of paying off the loans quickly. Right now, I think sticking to the normal plan is the way to go, but I’m open to any advice!

When it comes to long-term growth and investing, I’ll keep contributing to my retirement and pension plans and look into stock/ETF investments with my leftover money. I think my 10% voluntary retirement contributions (plus the 6.25% employer match) are good for now, but maybe I should bump it up a bit considering my expenses? I haven’t explored the 457(b) plan from my employer because I don’t see much advantage over putting more into my 403(b), but let me know if I’m missing something!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any support or advice as I get my finances in order. Feel free to ask questions or share any other tips I might have forgotten. Excited to hear what you all think!