<prompt> Human: My budget for the next month leaves me at 3,000. I essentially have two options with this money but am struggling to come to a conclusion on the right move with it. I am going to perform one by March 31st, and the other by July 31st. My best two options include:1 Pay off a 3,000 student loan 5.75. After submitting a 1098-E, the interest would really be adjusted to 4.3125 since Im in the 25 tax bracket and Ill be under the max student loan interest I can claim on my 2013 taxes correct me if Im not calculating this the right way. This would also free up 66m in payments.2 Contribute 3,000 towards the 4,400 I have remaining for my 2013 Roth IRA. The remaining 1,400 could be contributed in the next month. Ive maxed the 5,000 for 2012One way or another I will fulfill both items by July 31st--my question is which one do I want to do first?Other random, but possibly relevant assumptions: I have a stable job, 23 years old, plenty of leftover cash every month, looking at FI in under 20 years.  <response>: Id wipe out the student loan debt. In other words, Id take a guaranteed 5.75 actual 4.3125 effective post tax return. Also note that whatever return you would get if you didnt pay off the student loan would likely be subjected to taxes. I was more or less in this situation 2 years ago, and I chose to wipe out the student loan debt. 