<prompt> Human: Hi all. I started reading up on investment advice last week, and have semi-educated myself on the different types of investment options via sites like InvestopediaForbesFoolBogleheadetc and have now stumbled onto rpersonalfinance, so I thought itd be good to ask you guys for some pointers.Im in my earlymid 20s, have no debt, single, and have 100k saved up in a Money Market Account from part-time workgifts, returning an abysmal 0.8 APY, which from what Ive recently learned, is definitely not capable of keeping up with the annual inflation rate. This has thus sparked my urge to invest instead of letting the cash rot in the bank. Im currently not paying rent parents house, but will soon be moving out and have calculated that my monthly expenses will be around 1000mo includes rentfoodgas. Ive read that I should keep at least 6-12 months worth of emergency funds handy, so Ill be reserving at least 15k cash in the MMA just to be on the safe side. As for the remaining 85k, Ive been thinking of opening a taxable Vanguard brokerage account to buy a split consisting of: 40k in VTI US stocks, 20k in VXUS intl. stocks, 20k in BND US bonds, and 5k in VNQ REIT. Since all of the above are Vanguard ETFs purchased from a Vanguard brokerage account, AFAIK there will be no trading fees to worry about, and are fairly diversified by themselves. One concern is: I originally wanted to contribute to a Rothtraditional IRA tax-advantaged but since Im not employed right now, I cant do either. Nor do I have a company-matched 401k to contribute to obviously. Ive also considered investing in an apartmentcondohouse becoming a first-time landlord, but I figured REITs would be a less stressful option dont have to deal with repairsbad tenants. Low interest rates have me worried too, since rising interest rates in the near future likely means house pricesREITs would decline.My question is, what is my best course of action right now? Employment is definitely my first priority. But should I wait until I have a job so I can start contributing into a matched 401k if my future employer even offers that? Or should I open a taxable Vanguard account ASAP and move the money out of my MMA? Furthermore, what are some other investment tipsroutes that Im missing out on? Any advice appreciated!  <response>: 1,000 a month is tight, even if youre single.I would start by finding stable employment, keeping a good chunk of that money in an emergency fund, I would stay closer to 30k, but I am paranoid like that. 