I learned all these lessons the hard way, they are not fun lessons to learn. You will kick yourself later if you also learn them the hard way. First, get a job, today. Work experience before it is necessary will make many many things much easier than hitting everything all at once. As someone else previously stated, make a REALISTIC budget. Realistically, you will likely be making minimum wage. You should also start paying for things yourself so you know the true costs.

You will likely need to stay in a cheap motel in the new city before anyone will give you a job there, and no one will give you a job there if you don’t have a place to live. Additionally, no one will let you rent there if you don’t have a job there. This means you will need to save about 3 months budget before moving into the seedy cheap motel in the new city (start now).

When looking for a place to rent, find one that you can afford by yourself, then get a roommate if desired. Having a place you can only afford with a roommate, and them then moving out, makes you homeless. If you always plan for the worst (and hope for the best), you won’t be caught with your pants down. Please note that generally the cheaper side of town is the more dangerous side of town. If you know anyone that lives there, ask them what parts of town to stay away from.

I’m unsure of how credit/history works in your country, but get a (singular, one, JUST ONE) credit card. Use it ONLY once a month and ALWAYS pay it off EVERY month. I was not that smart. Everyone told me that, and I didn’t listen. Now I’m still paying off debts over a decade later. If you don’t listen to anything else, please take this point to heart. $100 is not a lot to have, but it is a lot to owe. If you want something, save for it.

That said, don’t buy it as soon as you have enough, you need to keep a good chunk in your savings account for emergencies (car broke down, lost your job, getting evicted because your landlord wants to rent it for 3x the price, etc). You should have a minimum of one months expenses saved at all times. I would recommend 3 months worth, but I know how hard that is (still try though).

Start saving for a house and retirement as soon as possible. Put it in a bank/credit union that is easy to put money into, but hard to take it out of. Personally, I put it in a credit union that I can have my main bank send a check to, but can only get the money out in person, Monday through Thursday, from 10am to 4pm.

Learn to cook now. Learning to cook without a teacher is hard. Not knowing how to cook makes buying groceries hard.

Lastly, I don’t recommend a financial planner. They are not free. The person who suggested it brought up retirement, the fact is, no one has any idea what you will need for it by the time you are eligible. Look at any ~70 year span, and then look at the retirement retirements at each end. The only thing you can know about what it costs to retire is that it will be a lot more than what your parents need.