I agree with Quarter Life, that it is important to consistently put something away, even if it isn't much. I don't know if it there is any way to set up some sort of automatic transfer to a savings or investment account, that might make it easier. When I was making a lot less than I am now, I still managed to set something aside every month.


For me, getting out of debt was my first priority and I have been debt free for about 8 years now. It is a great feeling.

These days I am able to save about 1/4 of my take-home income from my regular job as well as some freelance income I have. Not having any debt means that we have more money available to save and we also consider saving a priority. What I do, is, as soon as I get paid, I transfer that 1/4 into savings-, I have an emergency savings account, mutual funds, stocks and a retirement savings account and split it among those.

I would say to sit down and figure out how much you can realistically put away every month. Then, as soon as you get paid, transfer it into whatever type of account you decide to use for savings. I think some sort of emergency fund would be the most important place to start. That way, after a while, you won't have to turn to credit cards if an unexpected expense like a car repair comes up.