(Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series featuring money management strategies. We’ll have tips for couples and single parents in future issues of Synergy.)

As the old saying goes, you are footloose and fancy free. Single with no children and on your own, you can spend your money any way you like. Sounds great, unless your finances are out of control.

Unfortunately, that’s the case far too often, especially for young, single working people. According to an analysis of the credit records of three million twentysomethings by credit-reporting agency Experian, about two-thirds of them carry some debt and that debt load has increased substantially over the last few years.

However there’s some good news. Economist Tom Smith, a finance professor in the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University who has delivered hundreds of workshops on financial fitness, tells Synergy that even in uncertain economic times, you can save money and prevent debt - - or get out of what seems like a financial black hole, if you follow some tried and true strategies.

Avoiding overspending pitfalls

Singles can get into trouble because there’s no spouse to deliver a reality check about purchases. "A great number of parents ask questions like ‘Can you afford that condo? Do you really earn enough to buy that sports car?’ But ultimately, a single person has to take accountability about how much money they spend and the kinds of items they spend their money on," Smith says.

"One of the pitfalls that younger workers fall into is that they want to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ but they really don’t know the income level or the amount of debt the Joneses have. They can see that their college cohorts have nice cars and beautiful apartments, so they figure ‘Hey, if they can afford that stuff, I can too!’ Before you know it, you owe an extra $10,000 to $20,000."

A lot of those purchases can end up as excessive credit card debt -- which is a major cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. To avoid credit card and other bills piling up, Smith says to remember the adage used in carpentry: "Measure twice and cut once."

No, he’s not talking about how to cut up your credit cards (although that’s not a bad idea for some folks). Smith explains you should practice what he calls "due diligence: before you cut up your resources."

Smith adds, "From a financial standpoint, ‘measuring twice’ means looking at your budget more than once before you take a large financial leap. Calculate your likely costs given the worst case scenarios, not the best scenario. If you think you can ‘just barely’ make the monthly payments given the minimum due, you better take a second pass at the numbers and make sure 1) you really need what you are about to purchase, and 2) if you can make payments under tighter circumstances."

The get-out-of-debt diet

What if you are already in debt? How do you turn your financial mess around? You can sometimes renegotiate your interest rates down if you already have good credit, Smith points out, but this is getting more difficult due to the tightening credit crunch. In addition, credit card companies are eliminating unused credit from customers and banks are eliminating home equity lines of credit. Bottom line: don’t assume you can use collateral on one property to pay down your debt on another.

"There’s no secret formula for saving money or keeping your debts down other than to save money and keep your spending to a minimum. Put yourself on a tight budget and stay there," Smith tells Synergy. "Getting yourself out of debt is like losing weight – you have to stay on your diet."

The basics of a financial "diet" plan:

• Identify your fixed expenses (those expenses that you can’t change in the next 12 months).
• Identify your variable expenses (those expenses that you can change over the next year).
• With the types of expenses identified, work on cutting your variable expenses back by 10%. For example, if you usually spend $200 per month on entertainment, start by cutting $20.

"I know some experts suggest eliminating all non-essential items. Like a weight-loss diet, if you’re used to eating some brownies every week and then you completely cut out sweets, you’re going to fall off the wagon by eating a pound of cookie dough! You’ll be worse off than when you started. Cut back a little at a time and keep track of your progress. After four months, take another look at your budget and see if you can cut back an additional 10-15%. Every little bit counts," Smith advises.

A word to the wise about saving

The earlier you start saving, the greater potential you have to earn wealth. Let’s face it, saying "start early " is easier than actually saving regularly. "The reality is that most people do not have infinite resources, so they have to make choices about what they purchase today and what they purchase tomorrow," Smith explains. "It’s also easier to save when you can see your money grow. And compounding is really powerful."

Smith, who spent nearly 10 years working with groups like Vista and other non-profit organizations helping members work towards their personal financial goals, offers these steps to create a successful savings plan:

• Start with a simple savings goal -- one that you know you can reach in six or eight weeks. Then save twice the amount of money that you need to reach that goal.
• When you get to your eight week time frame, don’t touch the money.
• If you engage in this "trick" three times, you will have saved for six months, you can see your money accumulate, and you’ll be on your way to building wealth.

Sherry Baker is a writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She last wrote Is It Really Possible To Be Happy At Work? Sherry can be reached at featuredstories@adamcorp.com