<prompt> Human: Hi guys, I grew up very poor and had to depend on the government for most of my life medicare, food stamps, etc. but I finally broke free and will be earning about 60k per year. Ill be moving to Los Angeles from Orange County soon.I have literally no idea what to do now. Im sure I make enough to pay for Obamacare for myself, but how does that even work? Are there other expenses that normal people have that I wouldnt be aware of?After rent 800, groceries, gas and other stuff, Ill be taking home about 3740 per month. I have about 36k in student loan debt and 1300 in credit card debt.Any advice on what to do would be great. Im really scared of being financially irresponsible now that I have money so I want to do this right. Thank you!Assistant: At 60k a year, youll make 5,000month. But after state and federal taxes, youll actually take home about 3,600month. Unless youre a contract employee, in which case youll take home all 5,000, but will need to hold back the 1,200-1,300 in taxes yourself into a savings account and pay it quarterly to the government. So with 3,600 take home, sounds like after rent and monthly expenses, youll have about 2,000 left. Youll then to pay for health insurance out of that 2,000 if you cant get it through work, which is usually cheaper, then youll need to shop around the exchange to see what you can find. I have no idea what itll cost, but lets assume its 400month. Which leaves you 1,600 a month.So step 1: with that 1,600month, pay minimums on the credit card and student loans first each month, then save the rest in a savings account. Keep doing that until you have 1,000 in savings as your starter emergency fund. Step 2: once the starter emergency fund is done, then keep paying the minimums on the student loans each month, and put the rest of the 1,600 on the credit card until its paid off.Step 3: then Pay off the student loans in full. This will take a little while, probably about one and a half years. But stick with it, and get it done. Dont let the student loans hang around forever like its your pet. Step 4: now you have no debt yay! and youll want to keep saving for a few more months until you have 3-6 months worth of expenses in your emergency fund.Step 5: once youve reached this point, youll be in much better financial shape than the vast majority of adults in the country! Now you want to start contributing to your 401k at work or open your own IRA if they dont offer one at work. Shoot for 15 of your income, And you can start saving for a house if you want, or maybe replacing a car, whatever. Side note, often times the first of a family to make it will suddenly start getting askedguilted by their family or friends into loaning or gifting money. Its nice to have a generous heart, but one, its not required no matter how thick the guilt trip, other people dont get to decide how your money is spent. and b you can only afford to be generous with othersgenerous Human: Wait wait wait. I AM a contract employee but theres no official end date, its effectively long term. Could you explain that part more and how that changed things? How am I taking home all 5000??? Do i not file taxes??  <response>: I posted above but you will certainly file taxes, just differently where you have to pay into your income taxes as your employer doesnt pay on your behalf.Also, take note that contract work is actually often easier to remove or not fund the next year. Dont assume its long term. Create an emergency fund and stay up on your networking of other people in case your contract is not renewed. 