It's hip to be debt-free

Live a financially sensible present to guarantee a trouble-free future:

1. Pay off high-interest debt before you start saving.
2. Adjust your lifestyle to live on 60% (at the most 90%) of your monthly income. The rest...
3. ...goes into a savings account and a retirement account.
4. Pay your credit card balances in full every month.
5. Maintain an emergency fund enough to cover at least 6 months worth of your usual living expenses.
6. Sell or donate any personal items that you haven't used in 2 years.
7. Remember that education is an investment, not a deductable expense, that yields dividends.
8. Don't invest in something you don't understand.
9. Buy a personal copy of and study Personal Finance for Dummies.
10. Take a gander at the US government's 66 Ways to Save Money list and 102 Personal Finance Tips Your Professor Never Taught You.

In the end, always remember that money in itself is just a tool. It is the means to an end, not the end itself.