The first step to setting up a strong financial future is figuring out what your expenses are, says Dara Duguay, author of "Please Send Money!"
"When people try to fill out a budget for the first time, it's easy to fill in expenses that they get bills for," she says. "When it comes to things where they usually pay cash or variable expenses, most people have no idea how much they spend."
Duguay advises 20-somethings to track their expenses -- everything from student loan payments to quarters fed into parking meters -- for at least one month. Once they have an idea of where their money is going, they can find budget leaks and begin to pay down debt.