No more cards

I finally managed to dig my way out of credit cards. After something like three years where I could not pay off the full balance my tax return was finally enough to dig my way out of the last of the debt. I was even able to send a $2000 check to my student loans.

What to do with savings now is a bit less clear to me. I have 8k in student loans. However looking at their interest rates I am only paying 6.5% fixed or 2.2% variable rates. This is nothing like what the credit cards used to cost me. Total interest is under $500 a year. Still, an absolutely certain investment of even this return beats putting the money in a bank by quite a bit. I also have a strong phobia of debt and would much prefer to be paying absolutely none of it before I buy a house.

On the other hand, if I started saving now I am likely to get a pretty good down payment in time for the bottom of the Southern California real estate market. That really could save me more than paying off the student loans would.