The market has recently hit all kinds of new highs, so you have to expect a market correction any time soon now. My vote goes for paying off those student loans.

You don't need investment ideas yet. You should just pay off the debt.

Paying off your debt is like getting 5.5% GUARANTEED. Smart investors would take that return in a heartbeat.

Ask yourself this question: Would you go out and borrow money (take a loan) to "invest in a mutual fund"? Because that's essentially what you are doing if you use your extra money to buy mutual funds instead of pay off your student loans.

pay off your debt first then invest in an undervalued company that has a high ROE

I'm going to earn a lot of money this year because of a project my company won. I'll be temporally relocated on it for 5-7 months. I'm going to be receiving lot of over time (as much as I want). I'll be receiving a lot of bonuses as well. I'll be leaving in Feb.

Basically I will have an extra 15-30k at the end of it all.

Should I pay off my student loans completely or find a safe investment to put the extra cash in?

My student loans have an average interest rate of 5.5%. I have already been paying double the minimum on them and plan to continue to budget for that. So I'll have them paid off in 3-4 years as opposed to 10 (the plan they sent me).

Is there a safe way to invest money and earn 8% annually through mutual funds? My 401k did 17% this year and it is most different mutual funds.

I don't want to buy a car.