The Personal Finance Advice Everyone In Their 20s Should Follow

Typically, our 20s are marked by a number of milestones, including graduating college, entering the workforce, moving up the career ladder, and, for some, getting married and starting a family. Each comes with a host of substantial lifestyle changes that require a solid understanding of your personal finances to avoid drowning in debt.

Certified financial education instructor Jamila Souffrant is a perfect example of how staying intentional with your money can lead to great success. Aside from providing coaching services through Journey to Launch, she’s most noted for saving $85,000 in one year, enabling her to buy real estate at the age of 22. “You can either subscribe to the idea that you need to work forever, pay bills, and be unhappy,” Souffrant tells Refinery29, “or you can decide to take control of your life and figure out how to use your job and all these other things to your benefit.”

Feeling lost? In partnership with Adobe Document Cloud, we tapped into Souffrant’s expertise for tips that’ll steer you in the right direction. From investment advice to tax preparation guidelines, click through for everything you need to know about personal finance in your 20s.