<prompt> Human: Hi, Im a recent college grad thats gone from making 15k a year to 60k so although its not a ton of money, its a lot more than I know what to do with. I graduated with 20k student loans that I pay a steady 500 on each month, I contribute 6 to my 401k for employer match, and have a Roth IRA set up for the maximum contribution. Coming in the next month or so Ill have my safety net goal of a months income in savings, after that Ill start having additional surplus income, should I try to brute force my student loans faster or try some additional investing? Largest chunk of loans are at 6.8, currently paying using the snowball method on the higher interest lower total loans.  <response>: Paying the loans down is a guaranteed 6.8 return on a significant balance, so thats where Id start. Not to mention the mental benefits of having it taken care of. Feels great! After that, Id recommend bumping up your 401k contribution andor opening a taxable account for non-emergency fund money that you dont think youll need for a while. Dont forget to live, though. Youre being responsible for a reason, presumably one of those reasons is to enjoy life, have some fun! 