<prompt> Human: Ive been having this debate internally for awhile now. Im young and have placed a very high priority on retirement savingsinvestments because Ill never have the time on my side. But based on my expenses, I likely should have a 25-30k emergency fund on hand and I pretty much dont have one at all. Currently I contribute 15 to my 401k, and max my IRA, but dont have anything leftover to contribute to an emergency fund. Should I reduce either of those and save hard cash? I just feel like the more I can invest now, the more Ill have later. Then the emergency situations start circulating in my mind and I freak out.  <response>: Your investments will do you little good if you end up racking up credit card debt to pay for an emergency.Establish an emergency fund. 