<prompt> Human: I have about 40K in student loans and make 64k a year. I own a home but because it was 70 miles from where I work I moved to an apartment and listed the house for sale. It is in a small town where the market is not as fluid as a lot of places. I didnt want the house to sit empty and deteriorate so I hired a property management company to rent the house out. I see people saying take all of the money I have in savings other than 1000 and pay down the student loans. I feel I need more money on hand for when issues come up with the house, most recently painting. I dont intend on keeping the house as a rental property and to me painting is part of maintenance that most home owners would have. How do I account for items such as that with only 1000 in savings?  <response>: Typically its recommended to have between 1000 and 1 month of expenses, so you could be on the higher end of that range if youve got some uncertainty. Something like painting ought to be something you can expect and budget and save for, not an emergency. If you paint every three years or so, youll know when its coming up. 