What should I prioritize?
Hi all. I am a current first year college student and I have both a HYSA and a Roth IRA. I calculated my monthly expenses to be around $400 (only when I am back home, in college it is pretty much $0). I work part time bringing in around ~$300 per month. I throw nearly all of this into my Roth IRA, unless I need to pay off my credit cards in a given month.
Now, I have read the flowchart, and I see that saving for college should be in a HYSA before saving in a Roth. My tuition is around $30k per year, and I am fortunate enough to have my parents pay for the first 2 years. I estimate my total loans to be $20k from FAFSA ($5k per year) and the $50k from the last 2 years will be private loans. Again, I will be fortunate enough to split this debt 50/50 with my parents.
Should I be throwing in my income into a Roth IRA now, to get some ground within my retirement savings and then put a pause on them when I get a real job to pay off student loans, or should I put a pause on the Roth now and stick all my income into a HYSA?
And yes, I am majoring in a degree with a (usually) high ROI (Nuclear Eng).
Posted Feb 17, 2026, 3:09 AM UTC