<prompt> Human: 28 single dating living with GFsalary 90kpay bi monthly 1700 Take home approx 3,400 monthly401k balance 30kBrokerage account 16k with 5k in liquid cash 550month contribution to ESOPCheckingsavings account 1-2kDeductions:Approximate monthly 401k contribution 1650 I am on track for maxing out company traditional 401k 18.5k this year6k CC debt 400 monthly paymentCar note 390 monthly 17k owed on 15k car 637; loan 300 going to principal each monthCar insurance 100 monthlyRent 1k monthlyinternetNetflixmiscellaneousdrinking 300 monthStudent loans 10k total 100-200monthAside from the obvious that my car payment is to high as well as upside down and I carry way to much of a credit card balance how are my finances? I want to own a home in the next year or two and my plan is to use some of the brokerage money as a down payment. I have a feeling the advice will be reduce your 401k and brokerage contributions till you eliminate your debt and have a 6 month emergency fund. However what is important to me at the current time is maxing out my 401k and acquiring as much stock as possible. If I dont find myself stressed or overwhelmed by the debt can I continue to live like this? I have a masters degree in the tech industry and a very stable job currently that I have been employed at for 3 years.Assistant: Your debt is probably costing you more in interest every year than your investments to the same value are making in returns.Paying off the debt is risk free. Returns from investing are risky.You dont give the interest rates on your debts, but the CC debt is almost certainly costing more than you could hope to make investing. The car debt at 6 risk free is high enough that you should pay that off before investing. The student loans, who knows?Stop contributing so much to the 401k. Why on earth do you want to acquire as much stock as possible if it is costing you money to do so. Lets suppose that stock was losing 10 per year. Would you want to acquire as much as possible then? Do you love having shiny stock certificates framed on your walls? Oh, you never really get those anymore.So, I dont get it. Why do you want to acquire as much stock as possible while losing money by doing so?We see people all the time on this sub who have this attitude towards flashy cars.You are the first person seen on this sub who seems to have an inordinate love for stock ownership?Human: First thank you for the honest response and I agree in some respects with your post. An important piece I forgot to mention is I recieve a yearly cash bonus on top of my salary that around the first of the year goes to all cc debt or debt in general and rarely carry a balance going into February or March. If my bonus doesnt knock it out that plus my tax return will. The cc debt is at 2× I cant remember exactly. But lets assume the cc debt is at 30 of 6k is 180 a month in interest. I usually pay 400 or so a month on the cc so Im decreasing the debt however very slowly. The allure for me Is the current value of the dollar vs the future value of the dollar. My cc interest is capped at 30 give or take by fed law. The potential up swing for a single conservative stock over a 10 year period is far greater than 30. Especially since on day 1 with esop Im in the positive 15. In 2000 what was worth more 1 share of apple or the min payment on your cc? Probably the cc. But if you bought that share and sold it today 18 years later...you are much further in the positive. Maybe not the most traditional logic but I subscribe to the idea of the opportunity cost of not owning the asset is more than the CC debt in the long run.  <response>: But, we are not talking the long run.We are talking months. If you stopped contributing to the 401k you could pay off that debt in months. Then you can invest.You could pay off that CC in 3 months. If you wait until your tax return in say April next year, you would pay 1,800 in interest. Pay it off in 3 months and you will only pay 450 in interest less, because you will pay some of it off each month. Whatever you invest in in the market is unlikely to make 1,350 in three months when you are investing 1650mth. The chances of your investments making more than the interest rate on the debt in months is vanishingly small.Your entire logic is likewise unlikely.Pay off debt. You will make more returns than investing, at lower risk. unless you have some debt at very low interest rates.Good luck. 