[closeparen]

$0. I'm focused on building a six-month emergency fund first.

I don't need anything approaching 100% income replacement, as it would make no sense to pay exorbitant rent for proximity to jobs as a retiree.

I doubt I'll save enough over my lifetime (outside of 401k) to scratch a down payment on a Bay Area 1-bedroom condo, but it'll be more than sufficient to buy a palace for cash anywhere else the moment I don't need to live here anymore.

(I have worked in Midwestern IT cost centers, never again).

[eb0la]

Make it one year fund. Even better, have make one-year fund using peak expense month as a reference. The probability of not needing to use it fully is high, but not 1.

[closeparen]

I think it would be silly to prepare for long-term unemployment in the Bay Area. I can move to within a few blocks of my parents' house and live almost the same lifestyle for ~50% of the cost, or a lifestyle befitting a long-term unemployed person for ~25% of the cost.

Moving costs something, but would pay for itself very quickly. If I leave my furniture to the Craigslist scavengers, just the lease-break fee of 1 month's rent and a plane ticket with a couple of checked bags.

At some point it becomes important to start the ball rolling on that sweet compound interest, pick up the preferential tax treatment (saving the max of $18k to a 401k would only cost me about $10k), pay down student debt early for a guaranteed 4.5% return, and (yes) travel and enjoy being young.

Effectively, the fund I'm working on will be worth even more than a year, as long as I relocate.