<prompt> Human: Hello, I have a loose goal of 2018 to learn what the hell Im doing in the financial world. My parents were very old fashioned- no credit card, no debt beyond mortgage, have pensions and pay their cars outright, etc. That means what I know Ive learned from you all and life kicking me in the ass. I graduated college in May with a job that started in July and 28k in student loans. My rate is hourly but I consistently bring home at minimum 2600 a month, usually closer to 2800 thanks to holiday pay I had my first 3000 month. My job was pretty cool and gave me after taxes around 10k to my loans not all was loan repayment, some was just a sign on bonus but I threw it all to loans since I had no better idea. I took out a credit card and got my credit from 630 to 740 in 6 months. I pay it off fully each month. Its the Chase Rewards one, Im content with it but there is probably a better card for me. Anyways heres what Im doing spending wise per month:Rent- 700 all utilities beyond internet includedInternet- 50 Student loans- 1000 500 per paycheck Other monthly necessary expenses- 250 Ive built my savings up to 7000 as an emergency fund, but it also doubles as a my car is 10 yo and may crap out at any time down payment fund. My Student loans at this time are down to 14k which was kind of excessively quick to repay them but again I had no better idea of what to do with my money. I contribute 3 per check to my employer matched 401k but I dont plan on staying the 5 years so I havent been doing any more than that. Id really like to start a Roth IRA but Im nervous Ill mess it up. Investing sounds neat but I feel like it is something for People Smarter Than Me and it again makes me very nervous. I took out an employer whole life insurance policy since it was cheap to do as I was 21 at the time, and I can keep it for life even if I leave the company. My biggest question is, if you were 22 yo me, with little background knowledge but the capacity to learn, what would you be doing differently than me? Also Im anticipating I will be taking on a car payment in the next 2 years if that makes a difference. Thanks!!  <response>: I think youve done well so far, you have a degree and a good job and above that you care about furthering your financial knowledge at a young age. Heres what I see from your post: Youre using credit cards the right way - if you ever find that you cant pay it off in full every month then youve lost control over it. Paying off your student loans fast is a fantastic use of your money, youll be debt free before your 24th birthday, which is better than the majority of Americans. Your emergency fund does not double as a car-replacement fund. It has only one purpose: emergencies. If you know that youll be buying a new car soon, you need to build a separate fund for that. Right now Id say you have a reasonable emergency fund, you can start saving for that car. You need to be saving at least 10 of your income, preferably 15. A Roth IRA is a great way to do this - get on Vanguard and invest it all in their 2060 target date fund VTTSX. Its inexpensive and it will automatically invest your money in funds that are appropriate for your age. You dont need that whole life policy - theyre 10-20x more expensive than comparable term life. Its crappy insurance combined with crappier investing, get out now. When you have dependents that rely on your income, get a term life policy. You should give more credit to your parents - nobody on this sub would tell you that paying cash for everything and only having mortgage debt is a bad way to live your life. 