Ilustration by Mark Matcho for Newsweek

Tanya Hahnel, 24, earns more than $25,000 a year helping Boston-area families find affordable housing. She has health insurance, good benefits, no credit-card debt and a frugal lifestyle. Still, Hahnel bartends at night so she can afford to fly home to the Washington, D.C., area for Christmas. Her friends, many of whom are working hourly jobs without health benefits, are faring worse. “If you’re making $7 an hour plus tips, and you don’t have insurance and something bad happens, your credit is just ruined,” she says. “Everybody I know is really struggling.”

You don’t have to be irresponsible or bad with plastic to get slammed when you’re young, out on your own for the first time. Here’s why it’s tough: starter jobs come with low salaries and, increasingly, without health insurance. Rents are high, and there’s a litany of hidden expenses in the life of a twentysomething: deadbeat roommates who “share” utilities but never actually write their checks; friends’ weddings that require costly dresses and travel; security deposits and agent fees every time you move; medical care that’s not covered by insurance; needing everything (furniture, work clothes, wheels, kitchen gear) at the same time, and, yes, college loans.

But there’s hope. Every generation faces hard times when it starts out; there are some new financial tools that can help you climb into the black without an allowance from Mom and Dad. Here’s how to get started when you’re getting started.