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I'm an American in my mid 20's. Is there something I should be doing to secure myself financially?
First of all, make sure you have an emergency fund.  Ideally this should be at least 6 months of living expenses in an easily accessible place. Do you have any credit card debt, school debt, or other debt?  Work towards becoming debt free, especially of higher interest debt and debt on things that are only depreciating (cars, for example).  If you have extra income, consider putting it towards debt. If you currently have access to a 403b, you should begin investing immediately.  If not, look into a Roth IRA.  The community has provided suggestions for good places to get one.  With a Roth IRA you take post-tax income money and invest it into this retirement account and when you reach retirement age you get it and all the interest as tax-free income.  You can't withdraw the principal until retirement age.  You should put up to the legal limit into a retirement account - if you can't do this at first work towards this goal. After an emergency fund, becoming debt free, and fully funding your retirement, save for goals such as a house or other things you are working towards. The exact order of doing these things might vary, but in general you need the emergency fund first.