Saving vs. paying off debt
One of the only perks of deployments is an increased income. Based on what they do and where they are, service members can make a lot of money while they’re gone. The first time Mac was deployed, I lived off of my full-time income, and he saved 95% of his (he paid our rent and had some random things like Xbox and Netflix subscriptions). Back in 2012, I read Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and was inspired to get a better grip on our finances. We aren’t following his plan completely; we’re using it more like guidelines.
But Mac and I have a fundamental difference in money strategies. I have a lot of student loan debt (about $65,000 or so left. Yes, really. It is that much.), so obviously I would like to pay that off as soon as possible. Part of my logic in getting a job here was to have extra money to offset my expenses and to pay towards my student loans. Mac would like to save the majority of his income. We’re both looking to the future (we plan on buying a house at some point) but with different perspectives. I want to pay off my loans then have that extra money every month. Mac wants to save so that we can easily afford a down payment and a mortgage while continuing our current plan of paying more than my minimum payments each month. I think some sort of happy compromise can be reached, but we haven’t figured it out yet.
If you were in our situation, would you save or pay off debt?