Nearly 80 percent of Americans admit to making financial mistakes, including not saving enough for retirement, not tracking their spending and taking on too much debt.

According to a new survey by financial services firm Edward Jones, 26 percent of respondents said they haven't saved enough for retirement. Twenty percent said they don't do a good job of tracking what they spend and 13 percent said they took on too much debt.

"When it comes to long-term savings goals like retirement or education expenses, we cannot stress enough that taking an early and managed approach is the best way to tackle the process," said Scott Thoma, Investment Strategist for Edward Jones. "Getting started with an investing program can be a daunting step for many people. For the one-fifth of Americans who admit to not paying enough attention to their expenses, a very simple step could be to skip that $3 coffee in the morning or think twice about that second night of takeout and instead allocate that money to a long-term savings platform. Every little bit really does count when you're talking about investing for future financial goals."