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It sounds like you are on the right path, you are saving and not acquiring debt.You are also inquiring about the right decisions to make for your financial future, which is almost unheard of these days, at age 24.Hold a small amount as possible for all emergency cash needs, in your checking account. Depending on your lifestyle, that could be as little as several thousand dollars.As for what to do with the remainder of the $35,000, holding it in a savings or money market equivalent that is FDIC or similarly insured by your own countries' depositor insurance, with the highest yield available, is a reasonable course of action at this time.This is reasonable at present precisely because nobody wants to do it, and others feel they are "missing out" on the markets recent run up in general equities.If you live in the US and by chance you work in Academic, Research, Teaching, or qualified fields, your employer may provide you with access for future contributions to the TIAA-CREF stable value fund.TIAA–CREFTIAA Stable ValueIt may provide slightly better yield, but on $35,000 the difference is minimal.As for buying index funds via dollar cost averaging, adjusted for inflation, it's usually an unfavorable approach during a decade of economic ills as we are currently experiencing. Especially so at recent equity market levels. And also because even if the market moves net sideways over the next 5 years a likely surge in inflation later this decade will erode the real value of those general equity holdings.Most financial advisors though prefer their clients to dollar cost average because a) most clients are not disciplined enough to make rational choices at market extremes, and b) it is a consistent monthly income stream to their firm.But to buy low and sell high, first you actually have to buy low. There should be ample opportunities a couple of years from now for that, using a sensible strategy to control your asset allocation. But you have plenty of time to learn about that before it will need to be put into action.For now, spend the next year(s) building your cash nest egg further, and place it in the highest yielding insured cash equivalent you can find, as mentioned above.As for your lifestyle choices, you are making excellent ones so far. You are a saver. If you wish to read a great dissertation on this topic, you might wish to contact this fellow at his link below and request a sample back issue of his newsletter entitled: "Robert Kiyosaki" from 2011. It speaks eloquently to making lifestyle choices which will help you toward financial independence.http://truecontrarian-sjk.blogspot.ca/As for acquiring debt in the form of a house purchase, if you are presently living in a location where annualized rental yields average 14-17% or more as they did in places like Orlando, Phoenix, Detroit and Las Vegas did in 2010-2011, then yes, it may make sense, if you had discretionary cash.But it's probably still best to wait, use the capital you have for other investment and saving purposes, and then purchase a house in cash, at a later point in your life and at a time when everyone else is fearful of buying real estate.Hope this helps.