Pay the debt vs. Max contribution (or any contribution)

I’m starting a new job where my employer offers a 403b, no match for one year.
In the notes on Step 2 of the PFC rules it states, “if your employer doesn’t match, skip this step.”

I have 7k consumer debt and 56k student debt. Do I really skip this step and just aggressively pay the debt? No contribution at all?

Yep, exactly. I know it doesn’t feel good to delay getting started investing. But think about your wealth in terms of your net worth. Getting out of debt IS increasing your net worth. And right now your net worth is probably negative. You have to dig out of that hole and get rid of those debt and interest payments before you can really start building wealth. To start investing before you pay debt is to basically ignore the reality of where you’re at. Don’t do that. Go HAM on that debt. When you have a good income and no debt payments, THEN you can build massive wealth quickly. Don’t spend the next 20 years floundering in debt. Knock it out in a couple years. Go HAM.

Done and done. Thanks for the definitive response. It’s exactly what I needed.

2 Likes