<prompt> Human: As the title states, I am 24, married, recently had a kid, and am currently making 120k. I have 30k in student loans but they are a manageable 347 a month and low interest rates. I have a company 401k plan with both traditional and Roth I am lucky with a 4 match. The 401k gives me access to fairly good mutual funds such as Vanguard. I am trying to set myself up for success, but quite honestly have no clue what to invest in with my money. Do I max out the traditional 401k for the tax benefits, contribute a big chunk to my Roth 401k for the tax shelter, or do a combination? Do I pay off my student loans as fast as possible or invest knowing I will hopefully make more than the interest building on the loan? I live in Ohio if that helps and need advice!  <response>: For me, since you are financially stable, this is more of a psychological question than a financial one. Will you sleep better as I would if you had one less debt, or are you one of the majority who sleep just fine with some debt as long as you have it covered? Me, I accelerate paying it off, but, full disclosure, I do believe I am in the minority. IMHO there is no wrong answer here, it depends on the person.Another question unasked, if I may raise it, is what to invest in? I am a huge fan of Vanguard. You mention an index fund, I assume this is an SP 500 index. May I suggest you look at the target date retirement funds if available to you? They include US total market index, international total market index, US total bond index and international total bond index. Very high equity at your age, sliding down to around 45 equity or so at retirement. Somewhere around 20 past retirement it is down to 25 equity. These funds offer you international exposure, which is another layer of diversification.One popular rule of thumb for in equities is 100-age. With longer lifespans, many are going 110-age, or even 120-age. I am a believer in 110-age. YMMV.Good on you for starting with your retirement investing and planning at an early age. Good luck, and remember to hug and kiss the little ones every time you have a chance. Some of my best memories are just laying in bed with my now a HS senior son and watching Teen Titans before bedtime. We also watched a lot of Power Rangers SPD. Sorry for the tangent. 