<prompt> Human: I know this issue has been hashed out, but I couldnt find a thread with numbers similar to mine so I thought I would start my own thread. My apologies for any redundancy. My info: Salary 160k, Student loan debt 160k, loans are currently being refinanced expected interest rate is 3.1-3.5 variable. Minimum payment on the loans should be just shy of 3kmonth its a 5 year repayment plan. I am in my late 20s. No employer matching on my 401k. My thought process was that because the 18,000 maximum pre-tax contribution comes right off of the top of my income, which will be taxed at 28, shipping 18k into my 401k shows an immediate 5k return. My 401k money is then put into a retirement-age targeted mutual fund. The compound dividends immediate tax benefit seems to outweigh accelerating my student loan payments. Am I wrong here? Should I be making a smaller contribution until I get my loans paid off?  <response>: Financially speaking, saving would make more sense.However, the burnout rate in big law is HUGE. Ive read and seen in my own class about 50 of Biglaw associates dont last three years.Since youre on a 5 year plan, if you burnout, your income may not support a continued payment at that rate although biglaw opens a ton of doors into other jobs. If it were me, Id knock them off first, then focus on saving, even though the math says otherwise. 