<prompt> Human: I have never been at all wealthy, and now that I finally have a wonderful job I havent the slightest idea what to do with my good fortune. Salary: 8K a month likely to increase to 120-150k annually in ten to twenty yearsExpenses: 1700 a month for rent and living expenses I have absolutely no savings, and no investments of any kind.I am 26, unmarried, debt-free, and in good health. Any and all advice would be appreciated. EDIT: Thank you all for your advice! And for those of you who are curious, I am a chemical engineer.  <response>: Congrats! Also curious your industry. The only bit of caution that jumps out at me from your description is the likely to...in ten to twenty years part. Im very excited for you that you landed this job that you apparently like and also pays really well. But remember to not let down your guard and always have contingency plans. Dont assume youll be in this job that long or that the money will always be that great. It is good to hope that it will but always have a backup plan.With that in mind, Id recommend: Immediately save up 4 months of living expenses in liquid assets...rounded up lets say 8K. What I did in this area was buy some staggered CDs CDs with different maturity dates so that every 3 months Id have some easily available cash if needed. Havent had to dip into that emergency money yet but it is good to know it is there. Youll get a slightly better return this way vs. a normal savings account, but shop around and find the highest interest paying but lowest risk virtually no risk being the most important thing for emergency funds you can. After the above is fully funded, start contributing to retirement accounts. You are 26 so you are still young and will enjoy lots of compounding before retirement. Definitely contribute to the 401k at least up to the match. Then max out a Roth IRA contribution each year. Then put any leftover money you are comfortable putting away towards retirement back into the 401k i.e. beyond the point the company matches. Dont feel pressured to buy a house if you dont have one already. It turns out they really arent that great an investment, so the main reason to do it is if you really love the area, the house, need space for a family when the time comes, etc. After factoring the numerous and expensive costs associated with ownership repairs, insurance, utilities, landscape maintenance, etc it really isnt better than the throwing your money away on rent that people like to shout about. Dont feel pressured to buy some new car. Dont deny yourself some fun! You did well for yourself and there is nothing wrong with using some of your new cash purely for luxuries. But I suggest not doing much more than a nice meal out or two until the emergency fund is together. After that, my advice is spend money on experiences more than stuff. The trip you decide to take to Alaska is more likely to be something you remember at the end of your life as opposed to your 4th smartphone.Best of luck! 