Hi, I am a 25 year old recent college graduate who is currently paying off students loans. As of now I owe about $10,000 which I believe I can pay off in about 1-2 years. In addition to paying off the loans, I would like to open a retirement savings plan while I'm in my twenties. I know that the earlier you start saving for retirement the better, but would it make any sense for me to open a retirement plan while I'm actively paying off debt? It seems like I have two options:

1. Pay off all my loans (1-2 years) then delve into a savings plan at that time.

or

2: Open a savings plan now while paying off debt (which would lengthen my loan repayments, possibly to 3-5 years).

From what I see, it just seems like it would be simpler to pay off the debt and then open a savings plan because paying down debt while saving for retirement seems counter-intuitive, but since I'm new to investing, maybe there's something I'm missing?

Also, as of now, my employer doesn't offer any kind of "match" or "free money" for an investment plan, so I'm not missing out on anything there.

Thanks!