<prompt> Human: So my wife and I gross about 180k a year. With our budget, we have the ability to save about 4500 each month, but that is with only making minimum payments on our student loans. The only real debt we have are those student loans, which equal about 180k a lot, I am aware. Our credit cards and auto loans are all paid off, and we currently rent. We, in theory, can pay off our student loans in about 8-9 years if we put all of our extra money each month towards them, but we would really love to buy a house within the next few years. We need at minimum 50,000 for a down payment Southern California.. and could reach that in about 15 months. Would it be smart to just pay the minimums for now while we save up for a down payment? Or should we tackle all of the student loans first and delay saving for that down payment?  <response>: Think of your life in phases. Phase 1 can be eliminate student debt. Phase 2 is home ownership. Other debts can be managed, but student debt should be considered the worst, worst debt to be eliminated as soon as possible. Youre younger now, but as you age you likely may have children, gaps in employment, possible illness, or long-term unemployment. Lingering student debt is unlike any other debt, which is why Im proposing to prioritize it being settled. 