Should I pay off debt before I start investing?

It depends on the interest rate. Pay off high-interest debt — credit cards at 20%+ or similar — before investing, because no investment reliably beats a guaranteed 20% return, and clearing that debt is effectively a risk-free gain of that size. For low-rate debt like a 3–4% mortgage or subsidized student loans, it often makes sense to invest alongside paying the minimums, since a diversified portfolio has historically returned more over the long run. The big exception that comes first: always capture a full employer 401(k) match even while paying down debt, because a 50–100% match instantly beats any interest rate. A common sequence is small emergency fund, then employer match, then crush high-interest debt, then invest broadly. Map your payoff against investing with our debt-payoff tool at wealthserene.com/tools/debt-payoff.