<prompt> Human: Im sure this has been asked before, but my work offers 8 401k match. Dave says to pay off debt before investing, but I feel like Im throwing away free money. Im sure it depends on the debt, but have debt ranging from credit cards to car loans did student loans to a mortgage. Is not taking up the match throwing away money or is it all about interest rates?Assistant: Take the match first. Its a payroll deduction so you wont even seemiss the money.401k employer match Emergency Fund High interest debt payoff credit cards, loans 5 or greater Student Loans payoff Mortgage payoffHuman: SRamsey has it as no investment until no debt, and lowest balance paid first, not lowest interest. So many people swear by this advice, but it seems so counterintuitive.  <response>: So many people swear by this adviceIts good advice if you arent responsible. The people that swear by it are the type of people who would do the match, and then slack off on the credit card debt and never actually pay it off.Ramseys advice isnt designed to be the most efficient. Its designed for people who dont have their shit together financially. It makes it easier at the price of efficiency in the long run. Sometimes easy but not efficient is good enough for people who literally dont have the willpower. Compount interest means that just not fucking up is so powerful that its way better than trying to do it right and fucking up. But if you can do it right, theres extra gainThat doesnt make it bad, but you need to be aware of what audience its intended for. 