Episode 135: Balancing debt payoff and savings part II

On this episode, I chat with my guest, Sarah Hawkey, founder of toRISEtogether and creator of The Money Studio, about balancing debt payments with saving for an emergency fund and and saving for retirement.

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On Tuesday episodes we answer questions from my Facebook group, Braden's Bestie's. Today Sarah answers the question "If you're starting from scratch saving money and paying debt, how would you prioritize between 1) building an emergency fund of around $3,000, 2) paying your quarterly taxes, 3) saving your first few thousand dollars toward retirement and 4) paying down about $3,000 in high-interest consumer debt? Do you do them all at the same time or in a certain order?"

Sarah suggests you need to cover your ass with an emergency fund or you're going to get dirty when the shit hits the fan. That being said, the IRS has you no matter what so any screw ups you have with taxes will be taken from that emergency fund. Save the $3,000 as quickly as possible. Pause on the retirement investing and focus on debt because the human brain can only do one thing at a time. Give your brain space to focus on being okay with a rainy day fund, then move on to reduce debt and save for retirement, keeping those quarterly taxes always above your head.

Get in touch with our guest

Sarah Hawkey, founder of toRISEtogether and creator of The Money Studio

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