Ah, the second decade of life: A little less awkward, a little more knowledgeable, but indubitably more independent.

These could easily be the best ten years of our lives, with the moving out, graduating, drinking, dating, and dabbling in new careers and new countries. On the other hand, these could easily be the most chaotic 10 years of our lives, with all the changes, responsibilities, pressures, commotion, and instability. The overall transformation from dependent full-time student to the independent full-time employee has little tolerance for laxness and negligence, and every little transition nestled in this larger transformation mandates our attention and understanding.

With the right preparation, however, we can knock out the struggles and simply enjoy our 20s to the fullest extent. Let’s not let the 1920s of America—with its recklessness and buying on credit ultimately resulting in an era of despair—serve as our model of how to live through our 20s. I’ve compiled a checklist for myself to ensure minimum worries and maximum bliss (I have yet to get started on some of these, but it’s intended to be checked off as I progress!).

Create monthly budgets.

We don’t see all the money that we need to survive right now because, chances are, we don’t have to pay most of the bills. However, now—while it’s still not your full responsibility—is the perfect time to list all of the things you will have to pay for once you become your own boss: Phone plan, grocery trips, life insurance, rent, water, and electricity usage—the list can go on for a while! Estimating each of these costs per month and seeing them combined can give you a good idea of how much money you will need to support yourself.

Prioritize your spending.

Once you recover from the fainting spell caused by all those numbers, it’s time to tackle them. The budget won’t be difficult to adhere to if you can rank the spending in terms of importance. For example, you’ll want to ensure that you have enough for rent first before you add on that unlimited data plan to your cell or buy that fair trade, certified organic milk. You don’t want to be taking shot after shot at the bar, either, if you know that your rent is already overdue.

Improve your spending power.

Your best friend: Coupons. If you receive them in the mail or email or by text, why not use them? And if you’re going to buy something anyway, why not save a little on it? It doesn’t take a significant amount of time to peruse through them and see what you can use. No one else cares that you think you look like a cheap old hag using coupons—there’s no shame! I know I stride proudly into ShopRite with my little red bag of clean cut coupons. And if someone does give you a smirk, you can smirk right back at them with the knowledge that you’re going to end up with more in your pockets than they will. It’s one of the easiest, most accessible ways to up the value of your money, along with buying what’s on sale at the moment and purchasing in bulk for necessities like toilet paper.

Build up credit.

Some of you already have debit cards and credit cards, but are they fully under your name? Parents’ co-ownership of your bank cards allows you to have a higher spending limit, but it can’t be that way forever. We have to start at the bottom before we’ll reach enough to lease a car or become an American Express Platinum Card member who can wait in the fancy lounges at airports. This means pay the bills on time!

Familiarize yourself with taxes.

The most despised point of my personal checklist thus far. Educating yourself properly about taxes demands sufficient time and effort, much like taking another class (sigh). This “class,” however, will pay for itself continually when your taxes are filed correctly and you receive maximum returns with minimal losses. Eventually, this investment will generate the most worthwhile results for the rest of life, not just for the 20s. I know, I don’t feel like doing it either, but a future millionaire must do what a future millionaire must do. Plus, more knowledge about taxes nurtures a deeper understanding of political platforms.

Keep your receipts.

Essentially, stay organized. There is nothing worse than not getting a warranty or a rebate because you lost all records of the item. Actually, what’s worse is knowing that the loss could have been avoided if you had just kept the receipts somewhere consistently. I’m pretty much a hoarder, so I don’t have much of an issue with this right now, but I know that as forms and receipts and emails pile up, it'll become harder and harder to stay on top of it all. Maybe placing the file in its appropriate folder/drawer takes an extra minute, but that extra minute will save you from hours of stress later on when it counts.

Allot time to yourself.

All this forward thinking sounds like too much right now. Why can’t we prolong our dependency on others and just focus on having a good time? The truth is, you still can have the latter without the former. It’s what we do for our futures now that enable us to enjoy our futures when it’s time. Think of it as social security or your 401K plan: It’s draining you now, but the benefits in the future are far greater than the losses of the present.

With the amount of preparation you’re doing, the time that would have been spent stressing turns into time that is dedicated to you: Celebrating, traveling, partying, pampering—whatever floats your boat. Make sure that you reward yourself well for having been so responsible before you even needed to be that responsible. Cheers to the roaring the 20s done right!