Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
People used to insist that I needed to start saving.
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It is going to be tight until that first paycheck.
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This is why most "get out of debt" plans have building a ~$1000 emergency fund as one of the first steps. Paying extra on loans is great for the long term, but if something comes up before they're paid off, it doesn't really help you. It's kind of a penny-smart, dollar-foolish sort of thing. Giving yourself that buffer to not have to use credit cards or payday loans (or starve) if an unexpected expense comes up can save you a lot more than what you saved on interest by putting everything you had into the loan.
Depending on who you talk to, paying down credit cards can be seen as the equivalent of building an emergency fund in your savings or checking account. Putting extra money into paying a credit card down saves you interest and builds a buffer you can borrow against if needed, unlike most other loans. Of course, an emergency fund is preferred, because then you don't need to go back into debt, and some people need to completely cut off adding to their debt to keep from returning to their old spending habits. I personally have a credit card mainly for the cash back rewards, but I also consider it to be an emergency fund in addition to what I have saved up in my savings account (I pay it off monthly, so I've never paid interest).
I recommend taking financial advice from several authors and combining it into something that works for you. Dave Ramsey is a good place for beginners to start, especially for getting out of debt, because he has a step by step plan that's pretty easy to follow (I think some of his later steps are out of order or unnecessary). The budget program YNAB has good tips that can be used with their software or other budgeting strategies (I use YNAB4/YNAB Classic instead of the newer subscription version). Mr. Money Mustache can be a little hardcore for some, but he has plenty of good advice that is helpful even if you don't take it to the extreme like he usually does.