[stoxtrader]

im not sure if the student loan debt is tax advantaged or not. if it is, definitely don't pay it off as you have an arbitrage there, and even if it isnt I still think you might not want to pay it off right away (but if the alternative is money simply sitting in a csavings account you are probably losing a small amount in return for the flexibility of having access to that money for the period of the loan).

I think you should be able to open a SEP_IRA account - this has the massive benefit of a 45k max contribution limit in 2007 and rising going forward. you can confirm your eligibility easily by doing it through ameritrade or schwab or vanguard, they want to make it easy for you to give them your money.

the sep-ira is great - total amount contributed is deductible and growth is tax deferred, downside is you cannot access the money without penalyt until 59 1/2 - there may be an exception or two to that last part, not positive.

with the balance of your money i would think about opening a vanguard or discount brokerage account and investing in index funds. you may also want to explore your mortgage options because I think a smart thing to do at some point would be to buy a place to live - but this would have to be at a time in your life when you are less transitive because renting definitely is more flexible and it is cheaper in the short run.

I think that you would be surprised what type of mortgages you qualify for and i would guess buying a place for you the bottleneck will not be the mortgage, but finding a place that suits you and a time in your life when it makes sense.