Need financial advice: I'm in debt 120,000 dollars, I will soon be making 65-70K a yr b/4 taxes.?

Should I pay my student loans off as fast as possible to avoid interest, or make minimum payments and try to save as much capital as possible over the next 3-5 years w/ the plan of starting my own business?
I don't want to go into the details of the business, but I'd just like to know, if you think I would be better off in five years being either:
broke and debt free OR
In debt for the same amount with enough money to start a business, of course w/ the help of another loan; but also w/ the hope of a higher income.

The loans are federally backed student loans and don't have an effect on my credit, which is in good standing at the moment.

I hate debt. Pay it off in the priority of descending interest rate (Highest rate first that is). If your student loans are the only liability you have, yes pay them.

I assume you'll need a business loan to get started. Having your personal finances in order will only help your application. If you can't sort out your personal money, why would a lender trust you to tend to those of a business?

Broke and debt free..That way your credit will much better. You will need good credit to start a business.

If I were you, pay off all the loan b4 start any business.

Pay off the debt...the amount you save will cost you more in the interest you rack up. Pay off credit cards if any first as they have the highest interest rate...then work your way down from there. You should try to save a little...you always want money in case of emergency...but the primary focus should be getting the debt down.

You need to do both-- this is not an "either/or" scenario.The first rule of success is "pay yourself first." So, you have to do both at once. See if you can put 10% of every check away in your savings-eventually you can use it for your business. At the same time, use the rest of your disposable income to pay off the debt. If you get a bonus from work, do the same thing-save some, pay your debt down. $120K for school is a hefty debt-and you are right to want to get out from under. Just think of all the money you will save in interest charges, if you can pay it down faster. It really makes a difference! Good luck in your future endeavors. I think it is great that you want to start a business, and know, if you handle debt prudently, you can have it all. It just may take longer than 3-5 years, be patient, and invest the money you save, don't just stick it in a savings account. Learn to invest with it--Want to read a good book about how to handle risk in investments? It is one of the best I've read lately--Trade Your Way to Wealth, by Bill Kraft. You can buy it on Amazon. One more thing- resist the urge to incur more debt. Live within your means. It is really more important to save the money for your business, than drive a fancy car. Be prudent--drive a SAFE car. You know what I mean. This is just "mommy" advice!

Broke and Debt Free!

You're better off being broke with no student loans.

If you want to start a business, you can take out a regular bank loan.

You don't want to finance a business with student loans, and that's what you'd be doing if you have student loans and the cash to pay it off at the same time.

es has the best idea. You need to do both. Pay yourself first by putting some into a savings of some sort ( a Roth IRA maybe or invest in some mutual funds ) and aggressively work toward paying off the loans as soon as possible. Decide upfront what percentage of what you are earning will go to savings ( I suggest 10%), and what will go toward paying off the debt and stick to those percents with out fail. Pay minimum on all your loans and all extra goes to paying off the smallest loan first. When the 1st one is paid off, apply everything you were using toward it on the 2nd, then apply same principle to the third and continue until all are gone. Then take funds going toward debt and split it in half. One half add to your savings, the second half, use as a reward for yourself for being debt free, and then start a second savings for emergency purposes

Yes you can start a new business but with higher income. You can take a debt loan. Not saying much i will just tell you to refer this site.

http://www.ezconsolidation.com/