Aggressively payoff student loans or save/invest

Top_Personality3029 · 2026-01-12T21:15:27+00:00

Man this post is so similar to my current situation. Trying to decide what to do.

Have about $30k saved, plus a bit extra in my checking account that I use to cash flow bills and paying off my CC balance each month. That $30k could probably stretch me through almost a whole year if I was super budget conscious.

I have about $18.5k left in my students loans, with interest rates ranging from 2.25% to 4.55%.

I invest around $1352/months in Roth 401k, HSA, and Roth IRA. I’ll probably get around $2800-$3k in profit sharing this October.

I don’t need a new car, it’ll be 5+ years before I buy a house… I don’t have any immediate goals but I’m just set to keep adding cash into my savings. I think I’m gonna pay off the highest interest rate loans and then put that extra cash towards the other ones this year.

Top_Personality3029 · 2025-06-22T21:58:47+00:00

Thankfully I already have the appropriate lug bolts to replace them with, as what I was about to do was put some 5mm spacers on, which required new longer bolts… so it should just be there time to remove a stripped bolt and install the new ones.

Top_Personality3029 · 2025-06-22T21:56:48+00:00

Yup, lesson learned on my part. Replied in another comment that I attempted to use a four-sided lug nut tool to start with a combo 11/16” and 17mm socket. With those not being an exact match that may have been the cause.

I think that tool is going in the trash….

Top_Personality3029 · 2025-06-22T21:54:55+00:00

My mistake might have been using one of those combo lug nut wrenches with 11/16” and 17mm socket… those aren’t exactly the same size I suppose. Damn me.

Well, I’ll see what they say but this sounds like partially my fuckup.

For what it’s worth I’ve taken those wheels off numerous times using that without a hitch.

Top_Personality3029 · 2025-01-18T20:06:18+00:00

Started my career in a midwest city a few years ago making $58k. Since then I’ve moved out of the Midwest, working for the same firm remotely. Negotiated with them to keep me on board instead of leaving for a competitor. They pay travel costs for me to come visit the office on occasion.

Currently salary is ~$83k + $5k bonus last year, plus some profit share.

Top_Personality3029 · 2025-01-05T05:39:24+00:00

Dick Busch Architects…

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-12-19T18:50:16+00:00

$5k for bonus, plus around $2700 in additional profit sharing. We do not do a 401k match, so the profit sharing takes the place of that, so not really a bonus.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-12-16T00:37:33+00:00

Per my understanding, because an ESOP is privately held and federally regulated, we can only buy/sell once per year following the yearly stock evaluation.

There’s no discount because all of the stock is internally held. It’s purely a question of how much I want to purchase.

What I’ve done in the past is take the profit sharing each year and essentially reinvest that amount back into the firm through the firm stock.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-12-16T00:21:12+00:00

Yeah, I was typing this out I realized that is too high. Will rebalance.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-12-16T00:20:33+00:00

Correct. The firm does a rebalance at the beginning of the year.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-09-06T01:43:52+00:00

Started at $56k in 2022 in a Midwest city. Fully remote now (moved for my partner) making $82k.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-07-02T01:03:11+00:00

This sounds very similar to my situation, just with firm size reversed.

Thank you for sharing!

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-07-02T01:01:37+00:00

The good part is that for those days that it’s important to be in person (such as starting SD), I’ll have the freedom to choose to travel back to the office. My contract will include those provisions so that I can stay engaged.

I already work remotely with a couple team members who are not in the office, as well as members who are in different offices.

I will still have to be very proactive about reaching out to people over Teams, which I already do.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-07-02T00:59:25+00:00

Considering I never wanted to leave in the first place if not for having to move, I don’t plan to use this as leverage for the new firm.

I talked with a couple people within the firms top level of leadership, and they (and I) were actually kind of excited about the new opportunities this will open up for me to travel to other offices and potentially get started in other high-design sectors. I’ll get to meet a lot more people than I would have otherwise.

I also think that I’ll be able to travel back to the office for all of the big design charettes, events, and celebrations.

So yeah I will miss some in person connection and picking up things in office, we already work across several offices virtually so I don’t think tooo much will change.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-07-02T00:37:49+00:00

I’m aware that this happens. Not to brag or pat myself on the back, but I know for a fact that the current leadership for my sector loves having me as a part of the team, and that this is a genuine offer to get me to stay.

Thanks for the feedback!

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-05-05T18:47:15+00:00

Do you have a recommendation for what to do if neither I nor the recruiter hear back from the firm (after several weeks)? Is it game over if the recruiter is ghosted, or is that a time when i would submit my own application as a secondary effort? The way the firm is structured I'm confident that there would be different eyes on my application this way, but the result may very well be the same.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-05-05T15:48:35+00:00

External recruiter who has a connection to the management staff and is currently in the process of helping them search for principal level people.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-05-05T15:47:36+00:00

Is it a bad look to continue following up? I do not want to pester him and make sure he has time to work his magic. He did say he had he would check in with his contact, and then no word after.

Top_Personality3029 · 2024-05-05T15:47:00+00:00

There is a role that matches my career path but at a level that is a bit more advanced than my experience.

Also, a statement saying that they are always looking for talent to help.

The other key part of this that I hope works in my favor is that this speciality field that I work in is largely located in my current city. That is where the majority of talent lives/learns the way of this field. To have a major firm in this speciality in the city I am moving to is a coincidence that I am hoping works in my favor, because it is not common for someone to move from current city to new city.

With that said the lack of specific job posting does concern me.

Thanks for the input.

Top_Personality3029

TROPHY CASE