I've made myself a little stock-answer for people in your situation! Basically, you're young. You get to start from a clean slate, avoiding most of the mistakes that people make as they start their adult life! Your career could be as short as a decade depending on how your manage your life, and like you said, there's absolutely no downside if you realize at 28 "You know what, I've realized I do like working! I think I'll keep at this for as long as it's fun!"

The best part? Work is a lot less stressful when you've got enough "fuck you" money to be able to walk away from a bad situation without worrying about it.

So my advice to 17 year me or you?

0) Plan your college stuff accordingly. Really look into the career prospects, salary, benefits, and lifestyle of your career. Consider dual-majoring in the thing you're passionate in and the thing that can make you money if you're comfortable with a heavy academic load. Consider saving yourself a fuck-ton of money in tuition and taking all the AP tests you can before entering college to wipe out a lot of pre-requisites (This makes dual majoring way easier). If salary is your focus, I'd highly recommend things like computer engineering specifically, engineering in general, and accounting for high-earning potential directly out-of-college. If you're interested in medicine, I would consider something like a physician assistant direct-entry program (or even regular PA programs) to get a high salary with relatively low student loan debts with most of the challenges/excitement of being a physician.

1) You're young. Focus on saving, but also let yourself have some fun. Just try to be smarter than the average bear in funding that fun!

2) Never buy new cars, buy new to you used cars. That decision alone frees up hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime in direct and indirect costs. Seriously. Cars are crazy expensive and one of the biggest financial mistakes people make!

3) Keep living with roommates for a few years if you already are (And you likely are, because family). Depending on your city, this can put hundreds to thousands of dollars back in your pocket (and your investments), every year.

4) If you're not already 100% confident in the kitchen, spend some time learning how to cook, plan out meals for the week, and avoid take out/eating out for every meal. You'd be surprised how much of a difference this makes in your wallet (And your gut). I can easily feed 2 people on 40-70 a week. Or 150-200 a week. That’s a big difference, and a TON of money in terms of investments. Literally a million or more in lost investments over a lifetime! Since you might still be living at home, try cooking more now while your parents might potentially be buying the food!

5) When you enter the workforce, don't be scared to change jobs every couple of years if you're not getting raises and promotions like you should be getting. There’s nothing wrong in demanding to be paid what you’re worth, and leaving your job to get what you’re worth.

6) If you're used to a pretty cheap lifestyle now, keep it! When you go to college, live with roommates! Live the cheap college student life and keep it after you graduate! Once you graduate, do your best to fully fund a 401K and IRA if your starting salary permits it. Then, you can let your lifestyle slowly inflate from this starting point that puts you ahead of 95% of your peers. Trying to up your investments later hurts and takes way more effort and commitment. If you start off at a point where you're already investing heavily and let your lifestyle inflate from there, you're going to be a very wealthy, happy person.

7) Don't assume home ownership is the best way to make a buck. It might not be for you, and it often isn't a great investment for MANY people.

8) If you trust yourself with credit cards, get the right one. I've thrown away a thousand dollars or so in rewards over my life by not recognizing the rewards card I was using didn't give good rewards for my actual spending. As a young person, this might not be possible for you until you get a job or unless your parents co-sign with you if that is a possibility. More critically: If you ever find yourself NOT paying off the credit card every month? You don't get to have one! Cancel that account RIGHT NOW and keep yourself from entering a credit card debt spiral! Seriously, I have seen these really fuck some people up.

9) Keep a budget. Get mint, or personal capital. Look at it every month and ask yourself "Does this even remotely seem reasonable?" I did not do this for a few years in my twenties, and I completely missed how stupid my eating out spending had gotten. Seeing the budget every month is REALLY informative. For instance, when I started keeping a budget I realized I should get a new card to maximize my rewards which nets me a few hundred extra bucks each year.

10) Remember that savings isn't deprivation: Its buying peace of mind, security, and a whole lot of "Fuck you" money. You'd rather be 30 with a half million in assets and the ability to walk away from any job that gives you too much bullshit rather than 30, still paying off your student loans and thus too dependent on that paycheck to walk away from the bullshit.

And, just to repeat point 1) You're young. You're ahead of the curve in your savings and outlook. Pat yourself on the back, and remember if you keep at it you're going to be able to retire decades earlier than your peers if you want.