financial goals

My financial goals include owning a decent mattress instead of a futon. I'd love to have a used car in the $7,000. range rather than the $3,000. range, and I'd like that to be fully insured. I want a decent "emergency fund". I'd love to live in a house I own, but in the Bay Area, as long as I'm single, I'm not sure that's possible. Always debating where to draw the line between living for today and saving for tomorrow, I am starting to wonder if it makes more sense to give up the plan to save for a down payment on a house, and let myself put more money towards an apartment. That way, in the now, I could be in a beautiful place that might be as long term as a house of my own. I'm getting tired of not being able to decorate my house the way I'd like, or collect art. How about increasing my income by tweaking my career? I've never gone to graduate school. If I did, would I make enough more money to offset the new debt? Ultimately, I'd like to have enough money to spend it philanthropically.