Hello Personal Finance!
So about 8 years ago, I got into a bad car accident which was not my fault, and which I sued the driver because they tried to drive away afterwards. I got a large settlement of about $32k, of which I did the following with:
- Put 16k in a CD (stupid, I know. I was 18.)
- Took the other 16k and paid off my car and used it to finance my college years so I didn't have to work part-time and could focus on my studies (not that stupid since I was in engineering).
After I got out of college, I put the 16k that was in CDs into mutual funds/stocks managed by a FA, which is where it is now and where it's been for about 2.5 years. It has grown to about 24k now due to the bull market we've had. I pay taxes on the gains year after year, so it is not tax-advantaged.
However, I also now have the following debts:
- Car loan - $8,626.87 at 3.54%. Minimum payment of $234 a month.
- Student Loan - $24,792.05 at 5.8125%. Minimum payment of $181 a month.
- Student Loan - $30,193.13 at 5.75%. Minimum payment of $300 a month.
I have been thinking of cashing out of my investment account and using it to wipe out my $24k student loan debt (debt 2) so that I could get out of debt quicker. I have been reading about PF for a while, and have come to the realization that I have no goals for my non-retirement investing since I did it when I was younger. I am not getting married, sending any kids to college, or buying a house any time soon. I also think that this bull market is not going to last much longer, and putting it into a guaranteed 5.8% return isn't such a bad idea.
So PF, tell me if my idea is crazy or great.