My salary ~$70k in high cost of living area. I have ~$35k student loans at 4.6% interest and $2k in emergency fund. With ~$1700 rent, should I get my Efund to $10k or aggressively pay off loans?

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I would get efund even higher than 10k

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Yea 2k is peanuts especially if you're in a hcol area. That only covers you for a month.

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I'm in a similar boat here ($77k salary, extremely HCOL, and some debt). My rent is a bit lower than yours @ $1450 (got super lucky with it). I definitely recommend building your efund. Mine is about $12k, and I still plan on growing it to around $15k just to be safe (with a lot slower growth starting now)

I kept my efund around 2k while I aggressively paid off debt, but that’s only because I felt I had a safety net with family. After paying it off, I grew it to 10k. ~2000 expenses per month if I sacrifice everything while looking for a job.

Efunds first before paying off other debts. I saved $12k given my monthly student debt costs ~1800/mo and about $4k if we add living expenses on top of it. Saved $12k for a 3 month buffer as a starting point. I recommend something similar depending on your appetite for risk. 3-6mo is a general minimum

It depends on what other backstops you have. If you’re single with no other support if you lose your job, then probably best to get at least 3 months of living expenses saved before paying off your loans. Also, consider continuing to invest to at least your 401k/HSA match while paying down your student loans.

3-6 months of living expenses in cash before investing

You have to get that emergency fund up asap. What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow? The trick with the EF is that you can be as clever as you want in figuring out what a realistic 6 months minimum or so would be. The key is realistic. Let's say your parents are okay with you moving back home. Great. But do you still need to cover breaking a lease? Surely you still need personal spending money. Or maybe you still need to pay the minimum on your loans?

But if you're not willing to live at home or if your parents would charge you rent or if you have other fixed costs (like car insurance or medical bills), don't forget to factor that in.

Even living at home with minimal responsibility, $2k wouldn't last long for me.

God damn those are all good points. Thanks for the advice - I'm just gonna pay the minimum on my loans till I build up that marcus account haha

Check out ‘Dave Ramsey’ for a plan to pay off debt

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