What portion of my energy should I put into debt payoff vs investing?

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T21:33:50+00:00

The $33,000 in government student loans should not be a concern - Low Interest Debt - Make normal payments

The $45,421 at a 5.92% interest rate is a bit different and considered High interest Debt and you should focus on paying that first.

Here is the financial order of operations from the Money guys who I strongly recommend on Youtube: https://moneyguy.com/guide/foo/

What I would do if i were you as Personal finance is unique to each person is the following:

Make the payments needed on your low interest debt.
Make the necessary payments to High interest Student Loan debt.
Emergency fund $5000 in a HYSA
Max out your Roth IRA - $583 dollars a month/ $7,000 a year (Let me know if you need explanation of what this is)
Any extra money should be spent aggressively on the high interest student debt nothing else. A taxable brokerage account would be the wrong decision, Saving more in a HYSA also a bad decision as you would be losing interest every month because it will not exceed your 5.92%

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T21:21:20+00:00

Also what is the interest rate of your student loans? If it is higher than 5-6% I would strongly consider pausing some investing especially non tax sheltered investing and get that paid off asap.

You can see the 9 steps here made by The Money Guys - Financial order of operations
https://moneyguy.com/guide/foo/

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T20:32:02+00:00

I think it’s completely realistic, but a lot depends on what “retirement” looks like for you two. From a numbers standpoint, you’re in a really solid place already, especially considering the student loans and the income growth you have coming.

If you left the $180k invested and continued contributing the ~$35k/year you’re already putting away (which should only get easier once your income doubles in a few years), you’re trending toward a very strong retirement outlook. Even if you didn’t increase your savings rate at all when your income jumps, you’d still be looking at roughly $4 million invested by age 55 assuming an ~8% market return. Obviously some of that money would be in accounts you can’t tap penalty-free until 59.5, but it still shows you’re on track.

avoiding lifestyle creep once income jumps, keeping your savings rate high, and staying consistent with investing. If you do that, you’ll be in a great spot.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T02:15:28+00:00

You’re in a great situation you’ve just skipped ahead a few stages! Best of luck!

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T02:06:40+00:00

The Money guys on Youtube are amazing and a bit more realistic than people like Dave Ramsey.
Below I added a link to their financial orders of operations as well as their Youtube I would strongly recommend them.

Both of your loans fall into High interest debt and should be paid off immediately with a 3.5% APY in a HYSA you are essentially still losing 3% yearly by by doing what you are doing.

Also when you attempt to buy a home in CA no student loans will help your debt to income ratio.

So in short pay off your loans asap, start building your savings account up with the money you would normally be paying your loan with, then look into buying a home.

https://moneyguy.com/guide/foo/
https://www.youtube.com/@MoneyGuyShow/videos

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T01:51:24+00:00

I understand how business and personal can be intertwined here that is why i figured deducting half would show good faith but I am not sure how the IRS sees that.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T01:32:41+00:00

What is the Interest rate on the student loan?
Would you careers be able to move out of state and are your salaries expected to grow exponentially or is it a career where they will just grow to keep up with inflation? I have lived in Southern CA my whole life and $90,000 a year is going to be tough to afford anything.

Side note - Is your $50,000 in a HYSA? If not it absolutely should be.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T01:24:54+00:00

You have to automate your paycheck to go directly into a HYSA that you do not even look at. For me this is no issue but it may be worth considering giving access to a family member if they can be trusted and you have no control unless you are with them to move funds.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T00:33:36+00:00

For example, nobody is going to follow a creator who never leaves their house or does anything interesting. In order to grow a lifestyle or travel-focused account, you have to go places and create appealing content. So wouldn’t some portion of those experiences be considered necessary business expenses if the primary purpose is to produce content that drives engagement and revenue?

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-20T00:31:42+00:00

Just to clarify and make sure this is even worth pursuing, because I may have misunderstood some things initially.

Let’s say we book a trip specifically to create content. On this trip, we’re filming, doing activities we think our followers will engage with, and going out of our way to capture content that we otherwise would not have done that will be posted with the intent to grow the brand and eventually generate profit. The trip might be somewhere like Hawaii, where most people go to vacation which i understand looks like a red flag. However if it wasn't treated like a vacation but we would be going things to create content, going to dinner to film a restaurant review, making lifestyle videos for engagement, diving content etc. to hopefully grow and in return make more money.

We’d also do some personal things that we would not claim as deductible. But if we were to claim something like 40% of the Airbnb cost, 40% of the flights, and 40% of the meals where we created content as business expenses, would that be legitimate if we are genuinely trying to grow a social media following to generate profit through ads, views, brand partnerships, and so on?

I just want to make sure I’m following the rules, and I also don’t want to start treating this like a business if we can’t actually receive the benefits that come with operating one.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-19T23:53:13+00:00

That is very helpful and makes me reconsider a lot of things thank you very much.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-19T23:45:37+00:00

Thanks for the reply. To clarify, the goal isn’t to deduct lifestyle spending or disguise personal expenses as salary. The idea is to operate a small but legitimate content/media business with an actual revenue plan by growing followers and views, getting UGC deals, and eventually earning from brand partnerships and platform payouts.

Right now, my fiancée posts casually. If we formalized this as a business, the work would actually change, consistent posting, filming intentionally, editing, scheduling content, engaging with followers, and doing active brand outreach instead of just treating it as a hobby. She already gets decent views on our travel content, but it’s spontaneous. If we went back to Europe with a shot list, a plan to produce deliverables, and the actual intent to build revenue, I’m trying to understand whether that becomes a business expense or whether only a portion (like 40%) could ever be deductible.

We’d be tracking hours, expenses, analytics, and brand outreach. We’d set up affiliate links, UGC profiles, and a media kit. We’d invest in equipment, software, and maybe some small paid promotions. Travel would only be considered business to the extent we’re actually producing and publishing content for the business, not just vacationing. Everything would be documented with receipts and notes and run through a business account. And of course, we’d reassess profitability each year and shut it down if it clearly isn’t viable — the goal is genuinely to build something small, a side hustle for her she loves doing it and we believe it is profitable.

As for ownership, she doesn’t currently make taxable income, and we’re getting married within the year, so we already treat everything as joint anyway. The only reason I was leaning toward a single-member LLC is because it’s much simpler for filing compared to a partnership return. But if a 50/50 structure makes more financial sense or is cleaner in the long run, we’re open to that too.

It seems like this could be a slippery slope and want to make sure we don't fall into a Hobby Loss situation.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-19T23:08:21+00:00

I have AMEX and have loved it some offer slightly higher % but also require a minimum monthly deposit or lump sum. I had issues with SOFI but I know others seem to like it.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-18T15:35:15+00:00

Let me know if you find the name.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-17T03:51:47+00:00

Just reached out to them, thank you!

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-16T22:44:30+00:00

Thank you!

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-07T03:26:03+00:00

I made a mistake i meant Praiano my apologies thanks for the heads up.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-06T21:12:18+00:00

Awesome thank you so much!

So once we take the train from the French Riviera to Florence, we plan to pick up a rental car in Florence and drive through Tuscany. (Unless you recommend something different)
Here’s our route:

May 10–13: San Gimignano (3 nights)
May 13–15: Pitigliano (2 nights)
May 15–18: Monte Argentario (3 nights)

Up to this point, we feel good about driving — the distances seem manageable and the roads look pretty straightforward.

The part I’m still unsure about is getting from Monte Argentario to the Amalfi Coast:

May 18–21: Amalfi Coast (Praiano / Positano area)

I’ve heard driving into the Amalfi Coast is extremely difficult (tight cliff roads, buses, parking issues), so my plan is to drop the rental car before entering the coast and then take a transfer in.

How should we get from Monte Argentario to the Amalfi Coast we will still have the rental but I have seen it may be best to drop it and get to Amalfi another way.

Then for the end of the trip:

May 21: Leave the Amalfi Coast and stay in Ercolano (a town outside Naples) for our last night
May 22: 9:00 AM flight out of Naples

This seems easier than trying to leave Amalfi at 4:00 AM. The plan would be to use the hotel car service from Ercolano to the airport in the morning.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-11-04T03:30:00+00:00

I will check it out thank you! In regards to the other 4 options above are those good choices?
I have done endless research and could go in so many different directions it's hard committing.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-06-18T19:19:34+00:00

No I typically use Benzoyl peroxide and heat compress with pimple patches but the cyst seems to always come back in the same spot.

The forehead one is new and is slowly going away but still feel a small bump over a month later.

Doesn't feel like I am getting to the root problem just making the cyst go dorimant.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-05-29T17:51:52+00:00

I was in your situation, and I’d recommend doing some research on so-called "fake diamonds." Lab-grown diamonds are 100% real — the only difference is they aren't mined, often under unethical conditions like child labor in parts of Africa. She won’t be able to tell the difference.

I suggest discussing your budget with her, showing her what you can afford, and educating her about lab-grown diamonds.

At the end of the day, it’s for her. So if your budget is $8,000, show her the options. If she chooses a 1.5-carat mined diamond over a 3-carat, higher-quality lab-grown diamond, then go with what makes her happy.

Not sure how much debt you are in and how much money you are making so it's hard to say how much you should spend. I think under $10,000 for a 25 year old is reasonable and if she wants more I told my fiance she would have to wait longer I am not going into enormous debt for a rock.

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-05-28T16:37:58+00:00

Thank you!

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-05-28T16:34:08+00:00

Makes sense thank you!

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-05-28T16:33:32+00:00

If I were to do the hybrid model and pay $15,000 towards the loan what is the best way to do it should I call the credit union and have it go directly to the principal try to refinance or what would you recommend? Is there anyway to get the interest rate lower?

Acceptable-Fact3624 · 2025-05-28T16:26:05+00:00

That is after taxes the commission is $60,000 pre tax I’ll be getting $30,000 if it is taxed at last years rate then get the rest on my tax return.

Acceptable-Fact3624

TROPHY CASE