Generally speaking, it's better to pay off your debts first, since their interest rates are usually higher than the return on any investment you could make. Re

Generally speaking, it's better to pay off your debts first, since their interest rates are usually higher than the return on any investment you could make. Re: risk taking: don't forget, big risk == potential big loss. To figure out your risk aversion, don't ask yourself how much you're willing to profit; ask yourself how much you're willing to lose. Re: expecting to make more in the next 40 years: Young people have a tendency to overestimate how much they'll make in the future and underestimate how much they will need (medical bills, for example, generally go up). Do the math sometime to see how much you'll need to have in your nest egg: retirement means, almost by definition, supporting yourself for 20+ years with no monthly salary.