Where should I focus on? Debt vs emergency funds

Emergency funds as the term suggests is for emergencies which no one knows when will strike (hopefully it doesn't), hence I do feel having an emergency fund set aside should be your fundamentals before clearing off debt comes into play.

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Imagine this. If Subject A (named Joe) keeps paying off his debt and isleft with 6 months to finish paying it off but he did not set aside any emergency fund. At Month T-3, he suddenly requires money urgently (be it due to medical reasons, or lifestyle reasons or loss of career etc.), the only way out for him would be to borrow more money.

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I once had to consolidate debts for a bank and its just insane how many different banks the same person borrows from. And guess what? They aren't even 30.

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From the above scenario, you can see the vicious cycle he could be stuck in if there's no emergency funds set aside. Hope its a clear enough illustration for you.

Pay off debt 1st. it is an emergency.

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Just graduate, come out to work with no committment. What kind of emergency can u run into? Just use 1-2 year, focus on paying the debt, then u are free.