<prompt> Human: I have recently come into about 9K in a settlement and I have a ton of debt. Im wondering if I should pay off something in full or put the money into some kind of IRA. Debts: Credit card: 7K 16 2nd card: 800 24 3rd card: 600 24 Car 14K 3.5 Student loans: 26K 9.25  <response>: I would pay off the 3 credit cards, and I would use the remaining 600 to start an emergency fund. Making sure you dont have to go into high interest credit card debt in case of en emergency s more important than investing a few hundred bucks into an IRA. 