Let's get fiscal: financial fitness in your 20s

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Start saving

"Think of savings as one of your expenses, not something optional," says Smith. You should be putting away at least 10 per cent of your annual salary into a high-interest savings account. The earlier you start doing this, the better.

Here's an example: Sally, 25, earns $50,000 per year; she puts 15 per cent of her income ($7500 per year) into an account that pays 4.35 per cent interest. Even if Sal never gets another pay rise, she'll have $231,620 in savings by the time she's 45. If she started saving at 35, she'd only have $91,520 at age 45. It pays to sprint early.

If you've been to uni, you may have a government HELP debt (and a thing for protests and pub crawls). The good news is, you're not charged interest on this debt, but it does go up at the rate of inflation every year. You can pay it back via the deductions your employer makes on your behalf, but if you've got spare cash and little or no other debt (credit cards, car loans), it's worth making "voluntary contributions": the government will give you a five per cent "bonus" reduction every time you make a contribution. Say your HELP debt is $5000 and you make a $1000 contribution, you'll score a five per cent ($50) reduction, bringing your total HELP debt to $3950. Visit ATO for info.

Beat the blokes

According to a survey by financial comparison site RateCity, men are ahead of us in the race to financial freedom. Thirteen per cent of men polled were saving for an investment property, compared with just seven per cent of women. And guys are more likely to spend a month researching super (39 per cent men versus 25 per cent women) and shares (26 per cent versus 18 per cent). Thing is, we live, on average, 4.5 years longer than men and are more likely to take a career break to have kids. So saving for retirement is even more important for us. Even though you're probably living in the moment, building and nurturing your nest egg when you're wrinkle-free is key.

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, a single woman wanting to live comfortably in retirement - assuming she's paid off her mortgage - will need $850,000 in super at age 65.

"Assuming the $850,000 grows about six per cent every year, she'll be able to withdraw a tax-free 'income' of $42,158 per year for 30 years once she's retired," says WH finance expert Sarah Riegelhuth.

"Say you're 25 and have zero super, you'd need to be putting $9000 in your super account every year to accrue $850,000 by 65. You'll need to find out how much your employer, who pays a mandatory 9.25 per cent of your salary, is putting in to your super. If it's less than $9000, then top it up yourself through voluntary contributions," advises Riegelhuth.

More: How to ask for a payrise

This phase of working part-time or starting your career - when you're not likely to be earning loads - is the perfect time to make voluntary contributions, because if you earn less than $33,516 per year, the government will match your after-tax contribution dollar-for-dollar (to a maximum of $500). Slightly higher earners are also entitled to smaller government co-contributions; for example, if you earn $45,516 per annum, it will match it to a limit of $100*.

"It's also important to think about other times in life when your income may be lower so you could qualify (for co-contributions)," says Bryan Ashenden from BT Financial Group. "Women returning to the workforce, perhaps on a part-time basis, after maternity leave may earn less for a period of time, which may let them qualify."

The wheel deal

One of the biggest money-sucks for women in their 20s is car-loan repayments. Say you get finance for an $18,000 car with the interest fixed at 8.59 per cent, your repayments would be $370.08 per month. If you earned $31,808 per year (after tax is taken out), this is about 14 per cent of your income. Eek. And it would take five freakin' years to repay the debt... by which time your car won't even be cool anymore.

"Interest rates on car loans can go up to 12 per cent, so borrowing, say, $20,000 for a car could cost you $2000 per year in interest alone," says Justine Davies, finance editor at Canstar. Throw in petrol, servicing and insurance, and the great Australian dream of car ownership suddenly seems very un-dreamy.

Whether or not you borrow money for your pimping ride, shop around for insurance - a new or near-new car will need comprehensive insurance. It's important not to over- (or under-) spend on insurance premiums as, unlike a house, cars depreciate in value, says Alex Parsons, CEO of RateCity.

"Look for the lowest price on the most suitable cover option for your needs. Just because it's the cheapest cover, doesn't mean it's the best option. Skimping on price could mean a couple of extra hundred bucks in your wallet today, but the cheaper the premium, the more you'll pay in excess if you have an accident," Parsons explains. "On the other hand, there's little point paying for features you'll never use or don't need, such as free car hire when your vehicle's out of action."

Training tips

Make sure you're contributing plenty to a superannuation fund and a high-interest savings account such as ING Direct's Savings Maximiser (4.35 per cent p.a.*) or RaboDirect DIY Super Saver account (4.2 per cent p.a.*); plus start an emergency fund with two to three month's worth of income. Get on top of bills and rent - and go paperless - using (BPAY View ), which sends bills to the same online or mobile bank you use to pay them. It emails or texts you a reminder and stores bills once you've paid them.

More: Drop a debt size

*Correct at time of print
* Government co-contribution thresholds will increase on July 1, 2014. See ATO for more info