In practice this is harder than it sounds when you take student loan payments and rising housing costs into account, but if you are disciplined over time this can really pay off in terms of flexibility and peace of mind.

For someone just starting out now I would recommend:

• As a top priority, max out your contribution to any employer matching retirement schemes. Although it is a long way off, this is free money that you should not refuse.
• Next, try to put aside a small savings pot of 3x your monthly expenses. Having a separate savings account with automatic transfers on the day after you get paid is a great way to keep from spending. This takes a lot of stress away about potentially losing or changing jobs since you have your own saftety net.
• Finally, once you have that amount in a savings account, use the same approach to put aside a larger sum for either a housing deposit or seed capital if you are more adventurous. Again, set automatic transfers so you are not even given the opportunity to spend it.