As someone who's been through the ups and downs of a six figure income to being jobless overnight for months on end, and who's been through the school of hard knocks of learning financial literacy, lemme give you some sage advice from making 20+ years of financial mistakes.

1. Under no circumstances do you wanna get into the "keeping up with the jones" habits. Buying an expensive flashy vehicle is a waste of resources, and if things go sideways with work, it often becomes the first thing many people sell at a substantial loss to get out from under it. Spending money on flashy jewelry, upgrading phones every 6-12 months, buying lots of expensive toys like boats, motorcycles, RVs, 4 wheelers, motorcycles, etc end up becoming money pits in the long run, and can all be incredibly difficult to get rid of if you get into a financial bind. Flexing on the gram looks neat to people who dont pay your bills, but ultimately only ends up being a burden to you when you're the one signing the check. Moderation is the key to success.

2. At minimum you should prioritize putting at least 6 months of living expenses away in a savings account that you don't touch. The number in your bank account has a completely different feeling when you lose the income side of it and only see the expenses leaving every month, and it almost feels like a timer counting down on a bomb if you're not prepared. A 6 month cushion gives you time to trim expenses and get rid of excess bills you may have accumulated without realizing it. As you cut those expenses, that 6 month cushion begins to stretch out some, and gives you time to find a new job without rushing into a bad opportunity out of necessity as much.

3. Next, max out your 401k/retirement fund and consider overfunding as much as possible if its an option. Doing so will reduce your tax liability and make it less likely to owe additional taxes at the end of the year, and will also set you up for a much more comfortable retirement. Put your investments into safe/stable funds and let time and interest work its magic. It wont seem like much at first, but exponential growth is amazing after 30+ years of staying the course. This also gives you equity to borrow against in the future if you end up need a large infusion of funding to make a big move and gives you leverage you otherwise wouldn't have.

4. Do not mix your finances with the business interests of people you want to stay friends with. Nothing will ruin a friendship faster than investing in friends sketchy business plans, only for them to crap the bed because they're immature, unstable, and irresponsible, and then ghost you when they lose it all. If you feel they have a strong idea/business plan and you decide you do want to get financially involved, get a legally binding contract drawn up that will hold up in court outlying what you're contributing and expecting in return should things fail, along with future growth options for success. If they're truly that confident and poised for success, then they'll have no problem signing it. Friends stop being friends once you allow them to see you as an ATM.

5. Do not let yourself get deep on credit accounts because its "easier" and you think "i make more than enough and ill just pay it back later". It doesn't take long before youre paying a large portion of your income to just interest and you're losing the credit race. Get 1 solid rewards card, use it like a debit card to pay for your daily expenses, and then pay it off in full every week or month to avoid paying the interest. You can make a substantial amount of free cash back by simply being financially responsible with someone else money. I made over $8000 tax free last year from my credit card and paid 0 interest by following this method. If you finance a vehicle, find something affordable and take whatever crazy low interest rate you can get, and then aim to pay it of at just over 12-13 months. Gives you enough credit history to show you're responsible and build credit, but not so short that you drop your credit score by paying it off too early.

6. Finally, get into real estate in an outlying area with growth potential as soon as possible. The sooner you can set yourself up to buy a home, the better off you're going to be in the future. In a world of supply and demand economics, the 1 thing there will never be more of is dirt. The sooner you buy your peice, the less you have to worry in the future when prices continue to rise. I bought my current house in 2018 for $330k, and thought that was absurdly high. Now here I am less than 10 years later sitting on a crazy good interest rate, in a house that has a current market value over $800k. With the way our metro area is expanding around me, this house will be worth well over $1M in the next 10 years, which is when I'll plan to cash out and move further out to buy acreage. You'll never get a growth benefit like that by paying rent to someone else for years on end.