<prompt> Human: I am 26 years old living in Chicago. I plan on living here for at least 3 more years before I get my MBA full time, hopefully top 20 B-School. My financial summary is the following: 75k salary No debts including no credit card debts 14k in retirement including 2,800 contributed to my Roth IRA so far this year 3,500 in liquid savingsI am currently renting a place for 1550 a month including bills and want to upgrade my apartment, but there is nothing in the area that I am looking at that I like I have a large dog, which is a barrier. I am considering buying a condo, and was wondering if this would be something to consider, or should I wait to buy something until post MBA, and concentrate on growing my retirement and liquid emergency savings. If I were to consider buying, what would be my budget? Thanks.  <response>: 3 years is a short term, and not what I would be looking for in terms of buying.Also, some condos have rules similar to apartments concerning dogs, especially large dogs.You need to increase your savings and emergency funds, both to survive the MBA program, but also to pay for it as much as possible with limited loans.Given your timeline, I would save as much as possible and just deal with whatever your apartment is currently until you have a better handle on where youll be both for the MBA and where youll work post MBA.Id go through your spending though, only 3500 in liquid savings and 14k in retirement on a 75K salary seems pretty low unless youve been working on paying off major debts that past few years. 