Every personal finance writer has to cover the most mundane and basic financial information at some point in time, so here it is:

• Start an emergency fund in a high interest on-line account. I use E*Trade, which has a 3.15% rate at this time. Many PF bloggers like ING Direct (Orange), but right now they are only offering a savings account with a yield of 1.75%. Here is a good link to do your own research, as the rates change often. http://www.bankaholic.com/money-market/
• Open an IRA. It probably should be a Roth, but I won’t make a recommendation here as it isn’t as cut and dry as most people think. To Roth or Not to Roth will be in a future post, which will probably be long and complicated with lots of variables.
• Contribute to your 401k up to the company match.
• Pay off debt. Debt is killing us as a nation right now. Just because you can get the loan/credit card doesn’t mean you should take it. Take a few hours and put together a spreadsheet showing all your current debt and the interest rate on your debt. Put together a plan to pay off the highest interest debt first, with minimum payments made on the other debt. I know some people advocate paying off small balances first, regardless of the rate, to get a psychological boost from eliminating a line of debt, but I hate the idea. More money in your wallet should be enough of a boost…pay off the high interest stuff first, no matter the balance.
• Create a budget. If you haven’t done this you have no idea where your money is going. You may think you do, but you don’t. When you realize how much you are spending on certain things it will be much easier to cut back.
• STOP BUYING EXPENSIVE CRAP! If it isn’t a purchase you need to make this second for an emergency, no an emergency is not the Super Bowl, take one day to think about the purchase for every $100 it costs. This is the $100 day rule, as mentioned on No Credit Needed.
• STOP BUYING CHEAP CRAP! If you have never done a budget this number will definitely jump out at you. Two good examples are eating out for lunch and the daily Starbucks, which together could easily add up to $2-3,000 per year. Bring your lunch, make your own coffee, shop at thrift stores, only buy stuff on sale, etc.
• Save for a major purchase (house, car, etc.). This is a preemptive attack on debt, and should only be made once you have paid off all your debt (except your mortgage).
• Read one personal finance book and one investing book. There are hundreds of personal finance books and many of the authors are really good with the basics (Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, Thomas J. Stanley, David Bach, etc.). The one investment book I would read is Jim Cramer’s Real Money. He does a good job of providing the basics (terminology, philosophy, function, etc.) of Wall Street and the various investment products. Even if you don’t plan on purchasing individual stocks, this book will help you gain a level of comfort with your 401k and IRA investments.

These are all basic, but it’s good to reinforce the basics now and then.