We bring you great financial and consumer advice every day. But when I looked over my years of consumer stories, I discovered a group she I have neglected — 20-somethings. They’re the focus of this Consumer Alert.

That first decade of your financial life as an adult is a chance to set yourself up for success. Before you have those little money pits we call kids, now is the time to lay your financial foundation. So, we chatted with an expert with Katie Kelton, a senior writer with Bankrate, and we asked her about the biggest money mistakes 20-somethings make.

“I would say missing out on free money,” Kelton responded. “High yield savings accounts, employee match contributions, even credit card rewards and not saving early and in enough places.  I’m talking retirement, emergency fund, sinking funds. I think the sooner you can start that in your early 20s before you have those long-term commitments of a mortgage or children, the better off for your financial future.”

Here’s an example of the benefit of taking advantage of employee match contributions to your 401(k).
Let’s call our 23-year-old Kimberly. She’s a recent college graduate and makes $40,000 a year.  She can only afford to contribute 2 percent of her income to her 401(k), but her corporate employer is matching her contribution. She receives a modest 2 percent raise each year. Now your expected rate of return on a retirement account should be 5 to 8 percent. Let’s say Kimberly’s rate of return is 7 percent.  When she retires in 42 years at the age of 65, she will have saved $831,088.06. Click here for Bankrate’s retirement calculator.

The other free money Kelton mentioned was a high-yield savings account.  Let’s compare that to a traditional savings account. Let’s say you have $600 and put it in a traditional savings account with an annual percentage yield of .01 percent. If you contribute $50 a month, in five years you will have contributed $3,600, but only earned $1.04 in interest for a total of $3,601.04.

But let’s say you put that $600 in a high-yield savings account with annual percentage yield of 5.25 percent. If you contribute $50 a month over a period of five years, again. you’ll have contributed $3,600. But your interest earned will be $586.34 for a grand total of $4,186.34, about $585 more than a traditional savings account. And it’s free money. Click here for Bankrate’s recommendations for high-yield savings accounts.

Listen, 20-somethings, I get it. My first broadcast job I was making $15,000 a year and saving money felt like a pipe dream.  But just a little savings today could mean so much later.  Most large employers will match up to a certain percentage into your 401(k).  But if your employer doesn’t offer one, click here for information from Investopedia on how to open one without an employer.  

And click here for advice from Fidelity for other retirement account options.