Striking out on your own for the first time is exhilarating. But in a culture full of bad advice, predatory banks, and splurge-now-pay-later temptations, it can also be extremely dangerous leading you to make financial decisions that could hurt you for years to come. Combine this with a slumped economy, mounds of student loans, and dubious examples from reality TV stars to politicians to your own parents, and it s no wonder so many twenty-somethings are struggling.

Twenty-three-year-old Zac Bissonnette the author of Debt-Free U knows exactly what you re going through. He...