<prompt> Human: The Good:Income is 40-50k per year. is this even reasonable for a 30 year old? I honestly dont know. I work 50 to 60 hours a weekNo kids, not married. Live at home. Sounds shitty, right? It is. But no rent or worrying about child care. 5,000 savingsThe Bad:No benefits for another 3 years. No IRA or retirement set up. The Ugly:26,000 in student loans at 6.5 percent paid down from 50,000 two years ago.My budget Monthly income around 3000-3500. 1 2000 per month into student loans. Get these fuckers paid off. 2 500 into savings. I keep it at 5000 for an emergency fund, and let it build up. Last time it got to 9,000 I put the difference toward my loans. Next time, I might open an IRA... not sure what is best. 3 Somehow, I spend around 500 a month. God knows how.What should I be doing? Do I stand I chance at getting a head in life? I dont think I can find a better job... but I keep looking.  <response>: Sounds like youre on the right track. Youre making a solid income and your overhead is really low right now, so youre taking advantage of that by tackling your loans. In what, about a year or so youll have cleared the debt, and you have a decent-sized emergency fund for your needs. Of course you stand a chance at getting ahead in life. There are many people in much worse situations than you that we see in this sub every day -- worse debts, worse income, a house they cant afford but are tied to, etc. Youll end up being 31 with basically a clean slate from which to take the next steps. It could be a whooole lot worse. Id say just keep focusing on polishing off that debt, and also check out starting retirement plans as another commenter mentioned. In the meantime, start researching for different goals that you can begin working to after the debt is paid off, and figure out what makes the most sense for your life. You can also increase the emergency fund a bit and then start getting set up to move out on your own, if you want. 