<prompt> Human: Hey, rpersonalfinance! Im a long-time lurker, and I think Ive finally gotten my plan mostly hammered down.Im 23, and Ive just graduated from college my diploma actually just came in the mail, woot! Im starting a new job in July with a starting salary of 90,000, a signing bonus of 10,000, and a 401k match of 50 of up to 4 for a 2 overall match. I also have about 2,500 in cash right now, and Ill be getting 2,500 to cover my relocation.I also have 12,000 of cash-secured student loans at 2.25 secured by my dads money in a CD, and 1,600 of credit card debt at 0 until January bought a Macbook for school.The only thing Im positive about is to use part of my bonus to pay off the credit card immediately. If I were to miss a payment, Id pay a 22 penalty APR applied retroactively since I made the purchase it would really suck to have to pay another 300 for nothing.Also, I have to get an apartment in a major U.S. city, which means dropping between 2k-3k for the first months rent and security deposit.Heres where Im starting to get unsure. I know that for right now, I want to at least get the full match on my 401k. But I also need an emergency fund and I need to pay off my loan. Any thoughts on how I could better allocate my funds for the next year or so?  <response>: The other posters seem to have the finances well-handled. I want to note that youre soon going to have what seems like a lot of money. Youre going to be making decisions in the next few months that will have long-lasting consequences. This is when lifestyle inflation strikes hardest. I wish to remind you that you do not need a new car now that youve made it out of college. You really do not need a luxury apartment. You do not need to eat out more. You do not need to buy expensive TVs, stereos, phone contracts, additional computers, or gaming consoles. You may need new clothes for work but shop smart. Avoid extravagance. Live like youre accustomed to doing on a students budget while using the extra income for building your personal finances and starting a nest egg for yourself. The earlier you start the more the interest compounds. See for yourself 500mo, compounded monthly, at 7 starting at age 24 yields 977k at age 60. The same numbers but starting at age 30 yields 614k, a huge difference. 