Should I Save, Invest or Pay Off Debt? | Budgeting | Aja Dang 

I’ve paid off about $70k of debt so far. I have $40k to go!

$1k as a single woman in a city would've had me sweating.😓🙈 Had to do $4k as my starter emergency fund and *PAID OFF 20k* of debt so far (which is 60% of my total) in the last 8 months.💃 Seriously running out of steam, but these videos keep me motivated.🙌🦋

As silly as it is, the line "I trust you to do what's best for you [and your finances]" is something that I haven't heard as a young woman. So thank you 🥰

I totally agree with the initial emergency fund being whatever makes you feel comfortable. As a one income family with three young boys, $1k made us so anxious. Instead we felt more comfortable saving $10k then tackled our debt. We followed the avalanche method for paying off our debt WHILE investing in retirement. Within a year we were able to pay off all our debt and get comfortable the entire time because we did what we felt comfortable with.

Talking about the baby emergency fund is so validating. I’ve been struggling & feeling so bad about not meeting my ideal emergency fund goals so now I’m gonna focus head on paying off my debt!

The whole $1,000 emergency fund is suggested because its said that more than 70% of Americans don't even have THAT much saved away. 1000 is a lot for someone that's never even had that much saved. But like everything in life do what works for you

I save 50% of my income towards investing. Saving to invest has been my smartest move so far....

My preference is to keep investing even just a little bit while paying off debt. The cost of not investing can be high over the long-term.

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your videos. If it weren’t for you I would probably still have poor money habits and keeping my credit card maxed out. I’ve actually paid off every credit card, and use them properly and responsibly now, I’ve paid off one of my student loans, and second one will be paid by the end of this summer and am paying off my car a year early ☺️ I grew up being raised by my grandparents who would just spoil me and take me shopping all the time and I had the worst concept of money. I got myself into a lot of financial trouble and was embarrassing. I also made the mistake of living at home rent free for 6 years and not saving a dime... 😳 it’s such a struggle to pay off debt and save when you have adult bills. I also probably wouldn’t have mentally been able to get through this pandemic (having to be stressed about money) if it weren’t for your videos. So thank you so much for your content 🙏🏻

I graduate in June and I just want a better paying job to feel like I’m making a dent in my debt. I’m excited for investing and can’t wait to get to that step.

For recommendations, you could call your cc companies to ask them to reduce your interest rate bc you have a plan and you want them as part of your success team.... If they don't play nicely you can transfer to the cc company that is working with you via zero percent transfer (usually 3% fee)....

Side note: the background is beautiful!!

theskimm is HANDSDOWN THE BEST!!! I read their newsletter RELIGIOUSLY

This video couldn’t have come at a better time! Graduating at the end of May and am freaking out with the drastic financial changes.

My rule of thumb is around $1,000-2,000 per person for our family. We have 4 people so I don’t let our EF go lower than $4,000 but like to keep it closer to $8,000. We have $47,000 of debt left to go!! 🎉😭🎉

Exactly what I needed today! Thank you for being so open about money Aja ❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️

When it comes to investments while paying off debt I've done it a bit strange. I had a fund from a family member that I split and put into the base of an IRA. It was about $1.3K and built it up to about 3.5K before the pandemic. over about 2 years This fall, I then decided to throw $1K into the stock market because it's been so crazy and just let it ride . I only throw $100 each month split between my IRA and stocks and save all of my extra cash to pay off as much of my student loans once forebearance is over. So I personally suggest, getting a toddler emergency fund, about $3K in an affordable cost of living area, then throw $1K into an IRA, then $1K into a stock portfolio and then not touch it beyond adding $25-$100 in total into both accounts every month until your debts are paid off. To me, having an IRA and a stock portfolio, even if it's small, helps me feel like I'm in control of my finances and I feel like a financially literate adult, but I'm not over doing it.

Love ❤️ this !! Please keep doing these financial videos !! You have come so far !! I’ve watched you from the very beginning since you started paying off your debt and all those tears and heartaches that you went through !! You are the absolute BEST youtuber and I said it and I’ll say it again !! Wish all RU-vidrs did videos like this instead of doing monthly favourites, hauls, what I bought this month etc. etc. All those other garbage videos that I no longer have any interest anymore.

Great overview Aja! I've personally used avalanche method, paid off 32k with 13.5k remaining, love stopping by your channel and watching someone whose been successful on a debt free journey.

We have paid off 56k in debt in the last year and have a goal of paying off another 45 this year.

Great video Aja, thank you for explaining the different methods.

Wow I can relate SO MUCH to the ‘saving for retirement vs investing for retirement’ I thought it was just me 😌 thanks for that

Thank you so much for sharing. It's refreshing to see different POV and not us following what money gurus are saying blindly - example: pay up the high interest debt first. I believe in paying what you're comfortable paying for first, well, because it's your money lol

This was so helpful🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

I really needed this video today. Thank you 🌻

Hi Aja! Your videos are always so motivational and informative. I’ve paid off my school debt following some of your advice and was able to buy a house last year! Just wanted to say I appreciate you and will be cheering you on 💕

I totally agree with this! I think having 1-2 months’ worth of bills and expenses saved up as your baby emergency fund is wise before going HAM on paying off debt. $1,000 likely isn’t going to cut it!

Love your videos

Super helpful!! Thank you!

The $1000 emergency fund scares me!! Haha but whatever works for you is best. I decided to save a fully funded emergency fund while paying off debt and I’m glad I did! But I’m completely aware not everyone can do that.

this is so helpful, thank you 💓

One of the things I love about personal finances is that it truly is personal. For example I started off working full time for a company at 19 y/o that matched my 401K up to 10%. So even while I was broke (in the beginning) I made damn sure that 10% at a minimum was coming out of my check to my 401K. I then budgeted everything else with what I had leftover. Now working for that company for the past 10 years it honestly was the best decision for MYSELF to do an auto-invest first and then work on savings and debt repayment.

Love this video! Currently in nursing school rn and stressing about student loans! Thank you for your tips ❤️

please do more videos like this!!!

girl! what a great timing! haha I just got a pay raise and was wondering exactly this! I'm just starting the video and already liked haha thank you!

Really enjoyed how clearly you explained all the steps and options :-) Working to my step 1 now!

Would love a video on investments - not just stocks but also high yield savings

OMG americans have to pay hospital bills for delivering a BABY ??? That's crazy to me. You guys really need healthcare.

A little perspective - $1000 was ok for me because we’re a dual income family with a decent chunk of disposable cash each month and we knew we could pay off our debts in under a year. If we had less consistent income, only one income stream or a smaller amount of cash to handle emergencies I would have increased my emergency fund out of the gate.

Aja, thank u for these videos. It gives insight and perspective that I haven't thought about myself... so, THANK U! I love financial info, worked in the retirement industry for 7 yrs and more people NEED this, esp people in their 20s!! I'm in my 30s and feel like I'm behind already!

I looove your approach to giving advice. Goodbye false tradeoffs! I'm personally saving half of my emergency fund now and putting money towards my Roth IRA then paying of debt heavy then finish off my emergency fund then invest. This gives me more time to research more on how I'm going to invest (real estate, stocks, etc)

51k for the entire hospital bill and 11k out of pocket. And that was just me delivering my daughter and stayed for only 2 nights which usually is 3.

Thank you, Aja! This clarified things very much to me. I'm at step 1 or 3, I think, because I'm still not sure if I'm comfortable with my current emergency fund. Also, I'm not sure how I should pay back my family because they're helping me very much right now because I'm still studying full time. However, now I know what I should do next and I'm not so anxious about it anymore ☺️ I long to become as successful as you are, you are truly an inspiration ✨

Pay off the loans with highest interest first as some recommend...

I love this new background 😍

Ah the good ole Dave Ramsey baby steps, gotta love them

Is it me or does Aja get prettier every video? Brian is doing his thing!

I would love to know how you balanced needs too- for example, if you needed clothes, skincare, haircare, travel, how did you justify it. Did you give yourself a budget of spending money for your well being?

Great job explaining, Aja! And loved the nice little summary at the end. I agree with you on so many of your points... I too think that $1,000 is almost nothing. I feel uncomfortable if even my checking account gets that low, so I would never want it as a baby emergency fund. I like your recommendation of $5,000. That's solid. I also agree that retirement is very expensive, so investing early is key. I made a spreadsheet some years back and calculated that I would need at least $2 million if I even want to retire modestly. So it really scares me when I see middle-aged people that haven't started saving/investing. I was incredibly fortunate to have parents who started me in Vanguard at age 18, which was 20 years ago. It's not a necessity to start that early, but it definitely gives you a huge boost. Keep up all the great advice!

I think it depends on how much money you have, if your interest rate is higher than 5% you better that off before investing, because on average your investment on makes you 8% in a good year. But if you debt interest rate is higher than 5% then you are making zero progress, just loosing more money each month to the high debt interest rate. You’re in the negative. Especially credit card debt. That’s as high as 27% at times. Better to pay of that debt ASAP. Plus just having money that is not going to debt as soon as possible just gives you peace.

I’m doing all 3 at the same time. 🙃 (although debt is the higher priority)

Still working on paying off my loans, but they seem more manageable now. The scary thing is, I may be switching to a different position at work that is a pay cut. It is a significant pay cut (at least $1k a month less, basically rent), but it would move me to days instead of nights. At this point for me, having a better sleep schedule and work life balance (one that doesn't involve dealing with death regularly) is worth it. I am just trying to build up my emergency fund to a higher sum in the even that this transfer takes place.

Hey I'm 50 and I've decided that I want to learn about the stock market and how to invest, I have about $250k saved up but first, I have no knowledge of finance.

I paused investing when paying off debt because I knew if I was solely focused on paying off debt, I could do it in less than 2 years. The math of pausing investing sounds scary, but if you can pay off debt in a couple years or less, you aren’t going to be setting yourself back on retirement. Also, being solely focused on the debt made me so mad I had debt and was missing out on other things that I’ve commuting to avoiding debt at all costs in the future

It's good to at least invest up to the match in 401k's for people working at places that offer a match. If you want to compare returns vs paying off debt, getting the employee match is 100% return.

Either works.Topic for my own subscribers this week. Finances. Part of advancing yourself is having a state of financial security. Many don't because they have let the norms of society convince them they need to have things that aren't important. Like that new car that is a 700 a month payment when you could get a lesser one for 300 a month. Or going to TGI Friday's every week which runs a hundred bucks for your family instead of grilling out which would run 20. If people would really look at what they spend on nonsense they would find that they could easily put away a thousand a month in investments. You don't have to live minimalistic, you just have to live smart. You don't buy a vehicle based on what others will think of you (mine is 14 years old with dents everywhere even though I could purchase a Corvette outright today). You bring lunch to work instead of eating out every day (which is less healthy most likely too.) You don't spend 150 a month for all that media entertainment. You don't get a four wheeler just because your neighbor got one. You don't have a five dollar mocha twice a day. All this stuff adds up. And you don't buy a house you can barely afford. Remember--living paycheck to paycheck keeps you a slave. If you have financial freedom you are always in the position to direct your own life with those slave chains cut. Hope this helps someone-out there-- Charles

The very basic emergency fund: 1 month of rent, 4 weeks of gas and groceries, 1 month of bills (water, electricity; internet, CC bills minimums), and money for prescriptions/medicine. Then, do a 3 month emergency funds. I’m at this step. Highly recommend: 6 months of emergency funds. A year of emergency funds depends on the person/household/job industry and personal preference :)

Perfect timing!

Dang!

Now we just have to have a video on how to come out of a forbearance without screwing up your credit. Wish I k ew this would happen before o did this.

What do you mean by "being saved conservatively"? What kind of savings account do you use for saving for a house?

You look gooood!

Posted 27 seconds ago! I feel so lucky :)

Aja I love your videos and this has been my saving grace not joking. There IS a topic I think needs to be addressed and you mentioned it very nicely here "volatile industries" There are so many creatives and creators that must make a living with inconsistent pay and volatile flow of work. And especially right now it is a major beating for us around the world. It would be amazing if you could find the time to make a video addressing this. How did you feel? how did you put your mind frame towards it? the challenges and struggles, the possibilities pros cons realities. And what you believe are the key aspects to navigate a volatile and inconsistent paying job in such a time as this financially. I think many of your creative followers would appreciate it and it would also raise awareness from more "stable" paying jobs on how we live. I as a musician as well as many colleagues for example REALLY struggle and it is a 24/7 job literally. The monetization for streams is meagre and we are having to find ways to branch out and offer our skills and services. Somehow the financial aspect for this is never truly touched upon and I think it would be a very interesting topic.

I think $5,000 is a great emergency fund to start. Unfortunately, many things like cars, medical expenses, problems with a house etc. can easily get up to $1,000 quickly

i would love maybe a video about what you would do differently with your finances on your 20s i’m a college student living at home with no car but have my own tutoring business, what should i prioritize?

I just started investing this month and I'm annoyed I didn't do it earlier. It literally sat in my low interest savings this whole pandemic thinking I need to hold onto it but I realized it's too much for an emergency fund. I had 1 insurance+investment prior which was set up by my mom yearsss ago and I was foolish to think that was enough as is.

Are you investing in bonds since you’re buying next year?

I dunno

Daaaannng

Question, do you have any credit cards? How do you manager your credit score. I imagine that's in your mind if you're planning to purchase a home soon.

Dave Ramsey :)

What tips do you have for when you use up all your emergency funds whilst paying of debt and investing and having to restart your baby emergency fund again. That's my situation right now, I feel broke and overwhelmed at times. Love your videos, love from Cape Town🇿🇦

Is there a way to do the avalanche method with private loans? Mine have me paying $1200 per month as a minimum payment so would it be this amount plus extra money I can put towards the highest debt?

Very Nice Video Go a Head

Snowball over avalanche every time.

So I’m sitting here listening to a bunch of your videos and was wondering why your voice sounded so darn familiar…. You sound like Halsey!!!!

Do you cancel your credit card after paying it off?

You must have read my my mind as a literally debate paying of fa credit card or investing. I realize investing is about long term gains, but those monthly debt bills each month, most often then not eat up into those gains, if not dealt with first.

Ha… Baby emergency fund. I prefer a robust emergency fund. I like your priority list. Any option is good as long as you take proactive action.

Debt snoball makes the most psychological sense to me. You get those quick wins. Math doesnt work but really if math was the problem no one would be in debt LOL

im currently saving for my ffef but I feel like its gonna take years.. how long did it take yours? any ideas how long we can expect to fund this? thoughts on speeding it up?

❤️❤️

hi aja! thank you so much for this video. i have my emergency fund ready, and your videos have helped me tremendously to get to where i am today.

2:50 haven't you heard of pet insurance?

An A/C is an emergency? Girl you should try leaving im south america, we go through life without a/c or fan lol

I got on YNAB and my emergency fund was getting a month ahead on bills now I am snowballing, 50k down 40 to go, btw the guy that was talking about investing while in debt is not very bright, the average credit card interest is like 25% a month while the average index fund return is like 7-11% a year, im not too good at math but that boat has a giant leak in it, if you have no debt except ur house u can invest like a madman (or woman and grow ur moneystupid fast

How do you think we should take Biden's promises to relieve student loan debt into account?

Do you invest with an IRA? That's what I'm currently doing as a freelancer.

If you have no debt and no money saved and invested, you still have no money saved and invested.

Aja, do you regret going to grad school?

I was at a retirement seminar and the speaker spoke on how he quit his job after he made well over $950,000 PROFIT within 3months he invested $120,000. I just began investing and i will really appreciate any tips or helpful guide.

Can i ask what you majored in for school? Just curious :)

Losing your job, having a health emergency, a car or AC breaking down... none of these are emergencies. These are inevitabilities. They should just be line items in your budget. Especially car and home maintenance. Those are foreseeable and very likely to come up, not real emergencies.

Pay debts off and then buy some Bitcoin.

I would take at least a year to get a 1000 together 😂

Just throw all your money into crypto like me 😉

Pay Off Debt? The first thing that you should do is ask yourself “Why am I so stupid that I got here in the first place?”