<prompt> Human: I recently graduated from college with 35,000 in stafford loans 6.8 interest and have just started a salaried job making 50,000 a year. Im pretty frugal, probably living off of around 20,000 per year, and I want to know how to use my 30k surplus. Some say I should use everything to attack my loans 100, some say I should saveinvest 100, some say a mix of the two.For context, my long term financial goals involve putting money down on my first house in the next few years, looking into buying property to rent out, etc.What do you guys think? Thanks in advance for your advise.  <response>: The first thing you need to do, is account for your taxes, because if you make 50K and live off 20K, that still wont leave you with 30K. You should be paying off, in my opinion, this loan. Returns on conservative investment could easily be below that, making investment a losing proposition. Getting out of debt sooner will also allow you major financial freedom. You are likely young and if you can clear your debt in 2-3 years, that will net you more in the long run and set you up for future success. 