Tiffany Curtis
Appearances
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
For sure. I think that is reasonable, Sean. And it can, if you're like me and debt is like an itch in your foot, just want to get rid of it. But sometimes you really have to do the math and think about what makes more sense. So on that note, you can compare that with investing in the stock market.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
Some people have historically been able to get around, let's say 10% returns over time, which is pretty decent. So you can get a greater return by investing than by paying off your debt. If you factor in inflation, which erodes the value of your money, And investing can seem like an even better deal.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
I hope people are not gonna throw tomatoes at me because I actually don't have much debt, thankfully.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But, you know, I am lucky not to have much debt aside from my car loan, which is more than halfway paid off. And the interest rate is honestly relatively low. But at one point, as I said, debt is like an itch in my foot. I was like, maybe I should just take turns of cash and pay it off.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
But since the interest rate is relatively low, I decided the money would have better use in an investing account, compounding, saving for my retirement. Every so often when I can, I do make extra payments. And luckily, because I went to college in London and the cost of higher education over a decade ago was extremely affordable, I don't have any student loan debt.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
So I will add that there are times I have to change the amount of money I am investing and prioritize other goals, even though it's not necessarily debt. But when nothing is on fire in my finances, I put large amounts of money towards investing.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
Thank you for having me. And for everyone who was scratching their head, like what should I pay down first? I hope you have the answer now. That's all we have for this episode. Remember, we are here for you and we want to hear your real world questions because we're here to make you smarter about your money decisions. So turn to the nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
That's 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at podcast at nerdwallet.com. And lastly, visit nerdwallet.com slash podcast for more information on this particular episode. And remember to follow, rate, and review us wherever you are getting this podcast.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
And with that said, until next time, turn to the nerds.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
Well, to help us answer Alex's question on this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Tiffany Curtis, a debt writer at NerdWallet. Welcome back to Smart Money, Tiffany.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
All right. So let's dig into the topic, guys. Our listener mentioned that they're using the debt snowball method to pay off their debt. Can you start by describing what this is for us, Tiffany?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Crush Debt or Grow Investments? How to Make the Best Choice for You
All right, Tiffany, so how can someone determine which payoff method might be better for them?