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Seven money goals for young adults

You should be thinking about what financial milestones you want to meet in your 20s and 30s. What money goals should you set up for yourself? Here are seven to get you started.

1. Be debt free (at least once)

Beawiharta/Reuters/File
A woman counts her US dollar bills at a money changer in Jakarta June 13, 2012. One financial goal you should set for yourself to accomplish while you're in your 20s or 30s is being debt-free.

Do you know if you're on track with your financial goals? Where are you in comparison to other young adults in their 20s and 30s? Take inventory of your career and finances with this quick checklist. Here's a list of the top seven milestones that every young adult should strive towards. What milestones are you working towards, and which ones have you checked off the list?

An important milestone that every young adult should hit is to become debt free at least once. I experienced this when I was going through a bad divorce at 25 years old. I added up all my consumer debts and created a plan to pay off all $14,000 of it in 14 months.

It was the first step in my plan to quit my job and become self-employed. Becoming debt free at least once gives you the perspective of how difficult it is to undo any bad financial decisions, and an understanding of living life without instant gratification.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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