Take your 401k match. Always.
DakotaT is right about financing vehicles. Buy something really cheap, and used. My wife goes by some saying that's something like use it up and wear it out or go without or something like that. Goes for cars too. Don't finance a car. You might as well burn money. Pay for it in cash, and that usually means buying a used vehicle.
Learn investing too. Sorry DakotaT, but you're wrong about the market. We made a small fortune in the past 3 years. When everyone else gets out, that's when it's time to get in. Goes for everything. Real estate is your best bet now because everyone else is afraid to touch it. If you bought the DOW in 2009, you would have doubled your money. I told everyone I knew to buy Ford and very few listened. Well, it went from under $2 a share to over $10 a share. It recently dropped down to $9 a share.
Keep a few months in straight up cash as well. Always. Wife and I right now are both unemployed and neither of us are taking our job searches seriously. It's because we've always been very frugal. We don't spend our money on material things. We'd rather spend our money on TIME with people we like. That's way more important. Besides, material possessions don't give you fond memories. TIME with people you like do. When you're on your death bed, you won't be thinking of how much you should have worked or the crap you should have bought. You'll be thinking of the people you wish you knew better or spent more time with.
As for student loans, don't be in a hurry to pay them off. I went to college back in the 90s and am still paying off my loans. I don't care. The interest is tax deductible. The lessons I learned in college and the friends I made are priceless.
Back to investing - America long-term is still a good investment. We still lead the world in inventions and job creation. Other countries love to cut us down. They make fun of our students, but let's be real - our students beat the shit out of every other country in the world. Our students are the ones who will go on to create the jobs that employ everyone else. Yes, that pothead sitting in the back of the room barely passing his classes - he's gonna start a company that employs 100 people in 10 years. I'm saying this defensively because out here in California, I'm bombarded with Asians (not Americans of Asian descent, but Asians) who think they're better than us. Well, they're employees, not job creators.
Biology (bio-sciences or whatever it's called nowadays. Nobody wants to die and people will spend a fortunate to delay their death) is gonna be a big one for investing. If you can find the next up and coming Biology company, you'll make a mint. Software right now in California is hot. But if you don't have time to look for pre-IPOs (most people don't, so don't feel bad), get yourself a house, put 20% down, and get a FIXED mortgage that is 15 years, NOT 30-years. Pay it off in 12. You'll thank me 12 years from now when you have no mortgage and your property has doubled in value.
My man Donald Driver
(thanks to Pack93z for the pic)
2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. ๐น๐น ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ท