Pay Off Debt or Invest?

[Adelle Miller]

I searched this site and saw other similar questions, but everyone’s situation is unique. I have some “bad” debt. It totals about $15,000, so not horrendous, but I still hate having it. These are approximations--$2,700 on a Menard’s card, $5,000 is on student loans, and about $7,500 is on a credit card with no interest for the next several months. I also already have rental properties…a 3-plex, a one-bedroom house, and an apartment that is above the house that I live in. My house that I live in is paid off, but I have a mortgage on the one-bedroom house and on my 3-plex. I have about $2,000 each month that I can do with whatever I want after bills are paid. I am torn about what I’d like to do with it. I really would like to save and invest in another property, and then use all that new cash flow to pay off my debts. However, if I just bucked up and threw all my current cash flow towards my standing debt, I would pay that off in just over seven months. I can’t decide which is the smarter move. I believe in being (bad) debt-free, but I also believe in increasing my income. I’ve been looking at a duplex that would give me an extra $1,000 monthly. I bet I get different answers, but what would you do? What should I do? I am new to this site, and this is the first question I’m throwing out there.