At the beginning of your career, there are likely a lot of things on your mind. While you hustle all day to impress your new boss and work your way up, one of the best things you can do for your long-term career is to start practicing good financial habits.

Young professionals may not get paid too much yet. It may seem like you have plenty of time to worry about your finances. Or maybe you just don’t think too much about money.

Well, you should! Now is the best time to get familiar with your money and how to grow it over time. Here are some essential money management tips to help you now and in the future.

Learn to Negotiate

Salary negotiation is a skill that every young professional should master. Even if you’re thrilled to be offered a job, or if the idea of negotiating makes you feel nervous, it is something that you need to learn right at the start of your career.

Think about it this way; every job you have can influence your next salary. So if you don’t negotiate now, your potential pay can be impacted for years to come throughout your career.

Use a Budgeting Tool

If creating and sticking to a budget sounds exhausting, don’t worry! You can take control of your finances with ease by using a budgeting tool to help.

There are free apps and budgeting tools available to make it simple to know what you’re spending money on. You can create goals, like if you want to save for a vacation or a wedding.

Many financial institutions offer budgeting tools to make it easy to manage your spending. Some banks and credit unions have these tools available for free. No matter where you bank, budgeting tools can make your life much easier.

If you have student loan debt, use your budgeting tool to help pay down your student loans. You can create a goal to help you track your progress. This will also let you see your debt in the context of your entire budget. So if you have a little money left over in your entertainment budget, for example, you can apply it toward your loan!

Start Planning for Retirement Now

Trust us on this one! When you aren’t making a lot of money and the bills are piling up, retirement is probably the last thing on your mind.

Retirement may seem so far away, but the earlier you start saving for it, the better. Even if you only contribute a small amount at a time, it will make a big difference in the future. Retirement savings are meant to grow over time, so the small contributions you make now can have a huge impact later.

There are plenty of options for retirement savings, from 401(k) contributions to Roth IRAs. Many employers even match part of your 401(k) contributions. That’s like getting money for free!

When you are job searching, ask about the retirement offerings of your potential employers. A strong retirement package is a great job perk.

Saving money doesn’t have to be overwhelming! Start your good financial habits now and set yourself up for a fun and lucrative future.