I gave a talk on "Financial Planning for the Young" at the National University of Singapore. My key points are: 1. Save 15% of your earnings after you start work 2. Keep the earnings in a bank account until you have accumulated an emergency fund of 6 months earnings 3. It will take you about 3 years to accumulate this fund. Just keep your savings liquid. Do not think about investing the money. 4. You should avoid investing the money in a life insurance policy or investment-linked policy - as you may need the money in an emergency and there is heavy penalty on early withdrawal. 5. You do not have to worry about buying life insurance until  you start a family. But, if you wish to have life insurance earlier, you should buy a term insurance and pay not more than $30 a month for $300,000 of insurance cover. ...