<prompt> Human: Hi, Im Active Duty Military and found out recently that Im eligible for a bonus in the next couple of months. The bonus is 36,000 of which 25 will be taxed yielding me 27k. With how it all shakes out Ill actually receive a little under 26k. Im wondering if I should use it to pay off my debts or investsave it possibly in a retirement fund.My current situation: I am 29, I have no savings or retirement and am living pay check to pay check. I have roughly 12,000 in credit card debt and Im 2 yrs into a 6 year car financing that is upside down. My credit score is around 580.As mentioned I have no savings and no retirement plan currently in place. I should also mention that the 25 income tax would not be applied on any amount of the bonus that I place into my Thrift Savings Plan Tax Deferred Retirement. Im most concerned about relieving my debt and improving my credit score right now, but obviously want to think about the future as well.TL;DRReceiving 25k have decent amount of debt and poor credit, but also no savingsretirement, need advice on how to best use the money.Thanks in advance for any advice.Assistant: Pay off the credit card debt and the car before you invest. Better yet, pay off the credit card debt, SELL the car using the cash to cover the upside down portion, and then buy a much more reasonable car for cash. Anything left over after that can start your emergency fund or be invested if thats funded already.Human: As far as repairing my credit score, would paying it all off at once hurt me in the long run? I know having and making payments helps build your score.  <response>: Dude you need to read the sidebar man. It explains all of this stuff. You should NEVER maintain extra credit that you can otherwise pay-off entirely if you can. Its a waste.Its a waste of your money.Its a waste of your time.It doesnt have that much impact on your credit score.Take the money. Pay off your credit card debt in FULL.Put 5000 bucks of the money in a SAVINGS account in your bankPut 2000 bucks into your checking account so you arent living paycheck to paycheck anymorePut the remainder into your car loan.Start a budget. Figure out how to pay-off the remainder on your car.You can do this dude. Read the sidebar. Youve got a great opportunity to get yourself debt free and out of this hole. 