<prompt> Human: I have 3 outstanding student loans, all of which are between 3.5-5 interest.Im self-employed and will be starting a full time position shortly, but my new employer doesnt offer any retirement plans, 401K, etc, so as far as I can tell from my reading of this subreddit, seems like an IRA Roth? is in my best interest.Based on what Ive learned here, since I dont have employer match or anything like that, I should be focusing on paying off loans for the guaranteed return and then move on to maxing out my IRA. But heres where Im getting a little confusedtorn: The markets are way down in general at the moment, so it seems like a pretty ideal time to put some money into my IRA to buy low. It doesnt guarantee the return, sure, but it seems to make it more likely?Does the standard advice still hold in a down market?thanks!  <response>: The markets are way down in general at the moment, so it seems like a pretty ideal time to put some money into my IRA to buy low. It doesnt guarantee the return, sure, but it seems to make it more likely?Thats basically just trying to time the market, and the vast majority of people in this sub will tell you timing the market is a bad plan overall. If you arent ready to invest because of other debt that takes priority based on your cash flow, risk appetite, etc, you shouldnt let market volatility change your mind. Stick with a rational plan. Even if we are at the bottom of this dip which nobody can predict, it wont make much of a difference decades from now after youve consistently invested according to a steady plan rather than gut feelings about which way the market is headed. 