What's your best advice for a 29 year old looking to get started?

[Carrie Link]

In the grand scheme of things, I know 29 is young. However, financially, I feel like I'm way behind. The thought of turning 30 next year has me really focused on what's next for me and my future family. I've been listening to the podcasts, reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and other various real estate books, and I have found fresh determination to get in control of my life instead of letting life control me.

However, I want to throw out there that I'm a typical middle class millennial who fell in the "go to college and get degrees that won't make you a lot of money" trap. Before I started looking into real estate, I was proud of the fact that, by the end of this year, I will have a doctorate in education. However, now that I've been educating myself financially (for the first time), I'm completely bummed at my choices! But, I guess that's the consequence of growing up in a typical "poor dad" scenario.

What's your best financial advice for me moving forward? Should I focus on paying down my student loan debt, get into real estate as a means to help get the debt paid off at some point, something else? I just want to get a handle on it all and truly want what's best for my future. Sitting back and simply paying bills the rest of my life is terrifying and with the student loan burden, I don't know if any time is a truly "good" time to get started.