Here's why you should pay off your debts before investing in the stock market

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

• Debt is bad. The interest you pay is unproductive. It is flushing money down the toilet. 
• Pay off balances before you pay off other debt because the interest rate is crushing you.
• Take care of the debt first—after that, start looking at making money in the stock market.

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Ever build one of those mortgage spreadsheets? Take your interest rate, the term of the mortgage, your payment, and plug it all into a spreadsheet to see how it amortizes over time?

It’s a pretty good exercise. Here is the key step—open that spreadsheet and add up the interest you will pay over time, assuming you don’t make any prepayments.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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