<prompt> Human: Hello all, I am about to receive a bonus from my job of about 20,000 and Im curious how I should handle it. My wife is currently in school to become a nurse and we are poor budget planners. My average monthly income is just above 4k Our current debt situation is as follows:Credit cards. 3,000 spread over 4 cards interest rates are 0 if we pay them off in a the next few months and the other two are 13 and 14Car 1: 3,000 at 10 interestCar 2: 20,000 at 3.75 interestCell phones: we still owe 800 on them totalStudent loans: 11,000 at 5 interestMortgage: 220,000 4.1Monthly payments are as follows:Credit cards: 260 minimum total across all 4Car 1: 230Car 2: 330Cell Phone 190. 130 after phones are paidStudent loan: 160Mortgage: 1300Car insurance: 230Internet: 130Power: 150Water: 80The bonus money will be tax free so Im not worried about anything there... recently Ive taken an interest in personal finance as well as investing and I would greatly appreciate any adviceguidance anyone could provide.If there any more info needed to help provide a better answer I can include it. Thanks in advanced!  <response>: You have a fair amount of debt. Its manageable, but you should deal with it soon so it doesnt get the better of you. If you get rid of that you will be saving a lot of money in the long run. x200B;I would focus this money on debt. If you dont have an emergency savings I would put 2k towards that. Heres what I would do: 1. Put 2k towards an emergency savings if you dont have one, if you do skip this 2. Pay off the 3k in CC debt. That is what is killing you the most. 3. Pay off the 3k Car Loan at 10, thats a killer. 4. Pay off the 11k in student loans at 5. If you do the math you should still have a 1k left over. I did that intentionally because Im guessing you rounded down on most of the amounts listed. So you should still have a little left over. Use that for a nice dinner with your wife. x200B;Now that youve done that, it would really help you to get a better control on your finances. All those minimum payments that you got rid of I would KEEP paying them... First to pay down your 20k car loan. You want to get that down so you dont end up underwater. Then start saving 3 months at least salary into an emergency fund. Once thats taken care of start dumping all that money into your retirement. I would start with taking advantage of 401k match immediately if thats offered. Then I would work towards maxing out an IRA 5500 a year, then go back and increase 401k giving again, if offered. x200B;My last advice is to budget regularly, track every dollar and stick to your budget! When I say every dollar I mean coffee at Starbucks, date nights, housing, car repairs, napkins, toothpaste, etc... Track your spending and budget for what you need. Live below your means, no more CC debt. Buy cheaper cars, it looks like you are WAY over spending on those for your income level. And save, try to save 15-20 of your income to retirement. Thats a goal to reach for, not a starting point. You will be in a much better place in the future if you do this. 