<prompt> Human: I participated in my companys ESPP and just cashed out about 4,000. Ive got 5,500 left on a Stafford loan at 6.8. Would I be better off throwing that money at the student loan or my IRA?  <response>: The question is, would you borrow money to invest? Probably not. With that little in your student loan and 4000 in cash I would pay off the student loan in a month or two then you can be more focused on investing after. I may be conservative but paying down a 6.8 loan quickly seems more appealing to me then paying interest on it. 