<prompt> Human: I had always thought I was financially smart kept my head above water and had nice things until I went through the DR course. The game changer for me was keeping 1000 as an emergency fund. I had always used my credit card for that Car issues, medical, etc. Long story short, I put a budget together and did the snowball debit payments. I made it a goal and as I stated, paid off all credit cards and a small auto loan in 4 months.Now that I have the habit of saving and looking at my future finances I run into my current conundrum...I have the ability to save approximately 16k before my lease is up. Should I put that toward a 6 month emergency fund and then rent I need to move closer to the big city or a down payment for a condohouse? Note that I am eligible for the VA home loan with nothing down there is a lenders fee of 1-2 of the loan amount that I could use.I have been a long time lurker, first time caller. You folks seem to know whats going on so... What is your opinion?P.S. All my Marines out there give me an OORAH!  <response>: Ive never gone through FPU, nor do I want to, but I find his radio programme entertaining. If you consider yourself a follower of his, however, you should go through the course again, because youre missing some of his essentials here: Youre considering skipping his Baby Step 3, which is to be completed before getting a mortgage. As he phrases it, if you get a mortgage without a fully funded emergency fund, Murphy will move into the spare room. Youre ignoring his mortgage instructions: at least 10 down and then a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, the payments of which do not exceed one quarter of your monthly take-home pay, but you didnt actually say that you wouldnt abide by that. You cant use your 16k as a down payment, since that needs to go to your emergency fund. The man rails agains VA loans with the kind of vitriol that he normally uses for the Affordable Care Act and American Express.Of course, do what you want, but, since you like Dave Ramsey, you should be aware that youre planning to disregard his Baby Steps beyond 1 and 2.In my opinion, getting a mortgage without a fat emergency fund is foolishness. Keep renting. Also, everything that udequeued said is excellent. 