[DaFace]

Originally Posted by hometeam

I recently landed a (low) 6 figure job.

My first order of business is to get my high interest debt paid down.

THEN WHAT DO I DO?

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Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm certainly not a financial guru (hell, I'm only 34 myself). Others have given some pretty solid takes more generally, but if I go with the assumption that "spend less, save more" is a given, here's how I generally prioritize things:

1. Pay off credit cards.
2. Build up an emergency fund of six months worth of expenses. (There's a lot of debate about the exact amount here, so up it if you're conservative, lower it if you're risky and/or have a really stable job that you're not worried about disappearing.)
3. Put in as much as is necessary to get a company match in your 401k or IRA plans (if applicable).
4. Pay off anything else that has an interest rate above 5% or so. (This is debatable since you may make more than that in the stock market, but I'm fairly conservative and think you take the guaranteed "return" while you can.)
5. Start your own IRA (I think Roths make the most sense if you're young, but Trads are fine as long as you know the differences and benefits of each.) Max out your annual contributions if you can.
6. Pay off any thing you have left that's below 5% interest rate (except your mortgage assuming your rate is good).
7. Max out your contributions to your company 401k or IRA account (if applicable).
8. Pay off your mortgage.
9. Start a standard brokerage account and start investing for income (or possibly look into other types of investments).

There is very little in financial planning that is a "right" or "wrong" way of doing things, so others may shift their priorities in the above a bit. Nothing wrong with that.

Finally, in terms of investments, if you know NOTHING, you can always start with a target date fund. The fees are a little high, but they're managed and will generally keep you pointed in the right direction. A step above that is where I'm at: I'm lazy and go with a three-fund lazy portfolio for the most part. Be wary of "full-service" places - they're great for advice, but they're taking fees out of EVERYTHING, which can add up ENORMOUSLY over time. If you really start to have a feel for what you're doing, you can invest in individual stocks obviously, but 90% of people will just get themselves in trouble doing that IMO.