<prompt> Human: Im 27 years old and recently finished school and got my first job with a Computer Science degree. Im a junior programmer who makes 60k. My student loans are also 60k.I know the initial response to this thread is probably going to be why not both, which I get. Both are important. But the mental burden of this 60k debt is so heavy. I just want it to be gone. I know I cant get rid of it all right away, but I want it gone ASAP. Which is why I would rather put money that people would probably recommend putting into a 401k or Roth IRA instead toward my loans. If I wait, lets say 3 years, until Im age 30, to start saving for retirement, how much of an impact will that have? If I could spend that 3 years just putting tons of income toward my debt, I feel like I could get rid of a huge chunk of it and feel much better about my situation. Part of the reason I want to do this is because Im not sure I want to be a software developer, and I want the freedom to pursue other things without having to worry about not making enough money to pay off 60k plus in loans. I would feel much better about pursuing something else if it was 30k, even though thats still a lot.Assistant: why not bothThe answer is, do both. At the very LEAST contribute your employers match. Does your employer offer a 401k and do they offer a match? Even if they dont Id still do something modest like 4, just to get going, every year your money doesnt go in is TONS of compound interest you MISS OUT ON. Three years is an eternity to hold off early on in the retirement game, the money you put in NOW will compound for the next 38 years!!!Human: The 401k match is shit. If I put in 4 they give 1.Assistant: 60000.01600 for one year of contributions.Doesnt look very impressive right? Now lets compound that thing for 38 years, all of a sudden their shit-match is worth: 5493 if we assume a growth rate of 6.So with your 4 added in as well you are missing out on 25k if you dont contribute for just the next 12 months, let alone the next 3 years.Human: Sigh, not what I wanted to hear because I want to get rid of the loans so badly but I guess youre all right. I need to do both.  <response>: Yep, remember that those contributions go in pre-tax so the financial burden on your paycheck will work out to less than 4.At your age with a 60k salary you should be able to attack that debt pretty well if you live within your means. 