how I should plan for my Universal Debt Reduction?

Edwards Finance > Debt Consolidate

Q. would like to get a few suggestions on how I should plan for my savings/retirement. Yes, I do have a clue as to what I want to do, so no flames please. If you would please cc responses by email so I can be sure to review all of them. Situation -------------- My Age - 24 years My Spouse - 23 years Children - none yet (maybe 2 in future) We both recently finished our education and are in our first "real" jobs Combined Income - 50K per year "we have excellent credit" We don't have too much debt ---------------------------------------- Car Payment(s) totaling 500.00 per month $8000.00 approximate debt on credit cards (ranging from 9.0 to 13.25 apr) $15,000 approximate student loan debt What we have saved ----------------------------- We have about 650.00 invested in KAUFMAN fund, and we contribute 75.00 a month to this account. We both have Universal Life Policies and contribute a total of 150.00 a month (this = somewhere around 75-100 each month saved) I have an excellent 401k plan at work that I am eligible for, but have not started to participate My wife's employer does not yet have a 401k plan Our Goals --------------- We want to own our first home within the next 3 years We want to have children We want to live comfortably We want to retire early (55-60 years) Questions ------------------- I am ramping up in job experience so could be changing employers 2-3 times over the next 3-5 years, so how will this affect things? My wife will probably stay in her job long term, however would like not to work when we have children, how should we approach? Finally, what mix of investments and debt reduction could/should we pursue? Stocks, Bonds, Funds, Pay the debt first, etc.... Any specific Fund or Stock recomendations would also be nice. PS - please don't send me flame mail if this post is not appropriate. I expect to get about 15-20 posts from people trying to sell me advice too. Well, thanks but I really can't afford it right now?!!!

A. Well then, start using it, to the max! I would nix the UL and go for straight term life. Do the investing on your own, not through an insurance company. Unless you are really confident in the stock market making double-digit gains for the next few years, I would pay off the credit cards completely, then the car loan, then (possibly) student loan, before investing in mutual funds. I obviously don't know the interest rates on all of your loans, nor can predict the future of your income stream, but it is critical to take all these into account. You've got quite a juggling act, like many of us I don't know about housing prices in your area, but I hope you are prepared to wait many years for one. Your plans appear a bit idealistic.

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