skipdogg posted:

27K isn't a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Investing it at this point in your life isn't the smart move in my opinion. I'm going to assume you're under the ages of 35.

First thing she should do is put 5,000 dollars away for an emergency fund. I keep mine at a separate bank from my normal checking/savings account. It's there for emergencies only.

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Secondly, pay off all that high interest debt. 25% interest for a Buckle store card? Good grief. You never carry a balance on those high APR store cards.

3900 dollars will pay off Discover, Buckle, and the Bank.

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Third: Pay off RTG. I don't care if this is low/no interest. Judging from the interest rates on the borrowed money your g/f doesn't have very good/excellent credit. Just go ahead and get out from under this. It's probably 'deferred' interest and if it doesn't get paid on time, or you miss a payment you're gonna get hosed on this.

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11% APR on a vehicle note in today's economy is terrible. My last few vehicles have all been 2.9% or less. I would say pay this off completely or put a chunk of cash down and refinance at a lower interest rate.

I would suggest taking up to 10% of the money and spending it on whatever she wants. Maybe her mom had a favorite vacation destination. Take some time off and go visit it. Try to make some positive memories with some of the money.

I don't really worry about student loans that much, paying off the small College note would be a good idea just to deal with one less bill every month.


Other than that, make sure your budget is solid, between the two of you, your household brings home an annual income of over 76,000 dollars a year. You should have no issues with that kind of income if you stick to your budget.