<prompt> Human: Good day rpersonalfinance. Let me begin by saying I have been lurking around the past few months, I have learned quite a lot from you guys and Im very appreciative of everyone who puts time into responding to these posts and I apologize for the small wall of text that is forthcoming. I am a 23 year old male making about 21K a year at my first job after graduating college with a bachelors degree about a year ago. The money isnt great but its just something to get my foot in the door and to avoid a hole in my resume. I have very few expenses anyway as I am still living with my parents. No rent, utility bill, car payment, insurance payment, credit card debt, phone bill, or medical bills I have to pay at the moment. My main expenses are food and gas. This is the only reason Im okay with what I currently make. Im keeping at least 1500 in a savings account at my bank as an emergency fund and around 200 in checking as my expenses are so few.Needless to say with my expenses being so few I have some money left over for savingsinvesting. Last week I opened an account with Vanguard and after some research I purchased 1,000 shares worth of VGSTX since it was recommended as a good starter fund for the amount I had to put in. Over the next 3 days I watched as my 1K investment made 5.84! I was stoked. But then Monday the fund took a turn for the worst and I lost 2.33. Im obviously being facetious; I know 3 days isnt going to be indicative of the long term performance of this fund. Is VGSTX a good fund for me to start out with, or should I look at buying into another fund once I reach 3K in that account? Do you have any recommendations? What should be my target mix as far as USInternationalBonds?My next step is to add money to a Roth IRA with Vanguard and max out my contribution for the year. I have been looking at VFIFX which is a Target 2050 fund with a 1k minimum and a 0.18 expense ratio. Is this a good choice or should I look at another? My plan is to have 1.5k in a fund such as this with a 1k minimum and the other 4k in some other fund no idea which with a 3k minimum by October. I plan to add the rest of my surplus earning for the year into the savings account, likely at the rate of 200 until October and 1k for November and December after my Roth is maxed for the year. Does anyone have Ideas for which funds I should use in my Roth?I would really appreciate any advice you have for me, and thanks for taking the time to read this.Assistant: You may want to bulk up your emergency fund a little more first. What happens if your parents no longer canwant to let you live there for free? What if you need to become responsible for insurance? What if you get a better job and need to move? Does 1500 really cover all of your needs for even a month in case of emergency?Human: Yeah, I see where you are coming from. But the situation with my parents is pretty stable, it is highly unlikely 1500 wouldnt cover my expenses for a month even if I lost my job tomorrow. Ill focus on building it up a little more though just in case, thanks for your suggestion.  <response>: Your situation may be stable, but a 6 month emergency fund isnt for the expected -- its for the unexpected. You can plan your life out all you want, but some things will blindside you... and thats why you will be glad you have an emergency fund. 