I'll trump statements like this:

If you are able to sock away $4,000 a year into a Roth for 40 years, and if it earns 8 percent annually, you'll be a tax-free millionaire at retirement.

I'm funding my 401k up-to the matching limit, sadly, it means only 1k a year. On the plus sides, my wife has been able to put a bunch more into hers, and the 401k from my last job (now rolled into an IRA) is earning me $100+ every quarter on an initial $1800 investment.

Hooray for saving at 27!

I'll bring drezdn on my TV show as a good example for the masses!

I'm also an example of what not to do though, as I spent $20K on credit cards (mainly music equipment) before I was 23.

Luckily no credit card debt at 22, but I haven't opened my 401(k) just yet. When I started my first job last June I had about 200 dollars to my name, so I needed to build up some liquid assets first. I should be getting a raise in the next month or so, though, so all that money will go into the 401(k).

Last week my parents prodded me into using half my money (not much, barely minimum required) to start an IRA. I know that's a good thing to have, but when I still don't have a car or a place of my own and grad school isn't exactly the best way to support oneself, it feels very weird. I'll have a future, but I don't have a present.

I'll bring you on my show and hold your hand and tell you how good you're being- then I'll do this powerpoint thing on the wall where I'll show you how you're going to be worth 7 trillion dollars at retirement, thanks to your sacrifice now, casarkos!

I'll have a future, but I don't have a present.

Oddly enough, that's the right order.

Until the last generation most young people understood you have to pay your dues and that your younger years are for building a foundation that you'll enjoy later in life (you hope). My grandparents struggled through their 20s and 30s and then had a retirement. My parents? I'm a little worried about what they plan to retire on.

TPS how does this jive with your previous pro-shopping post? Between the two, you are talking about a lot of money, that many many people just don't have.

Of course one should plan and worry about retirement, but some people have more immediate needs.

I believe a bit of sensitivity is called for.

Miko, my (older, middle class) parents were lucky enough to be pensioners, and we all know that's going away. It's scary to think about being on your own. I so worry about a friend of mine, who thanks to a nasty divorce and a lack of the sensible money gene has nothing and it's getting too late for her. *Siiigh*

The two posts don't conflict- shop if you have extra money, but obviously look out for your own needs first. I hope to help create a society where people are taught from a young age to manage money well (either through teaching or writing or working with people), no matter how much they have. A lot of people are scared of money, and as a result, don't care for their financial future the way they should. Every little bit helps! And I really hope that people will see that.

It really offends me that you implied that I'm being insensitive, rainbaby, and I hope you'll apologize.

Yeah, it's scary, rb. For instance, I may have enough to finance a retirement, but if I end up caring for one or both of my parents for many years it won't be at all easy. Especially if I remain single.

I've always understood the logic and exhortation for saving, but rainbaby's point is good - not everyone really has extra to save at a young age. At least not a lot. That's because many of us start out somewhat behind the mark in life - if you have had to take out college loans, buy your own first car (which is such a basic necessity if you live outside the city), or have debt you incurred to provide basic necessities like shoes and dental care, it takes quite some time to catch up.

One effect of being low or even low-middle income as you grow up is that you're always behind. When you do get cash flow coming in, it almost always goes out right away again for a deferred necessity like a car repair or a winter coat.

That's not everyone's situation, and it's definitely important to get financial smarts early on regardless. But it is a factor for a lot of people who didn't have all the basics provided by family while growing up.

It really offends me that you implied that I'm being insensitive, rainbaby, and I hope you'll apologize.

Wow.

I paid into Equitable Life for nearly 20 years, possibly the one so-called sensible decision I made all the time I was drinking, or so I thought.

After all the court cases and the near-collapse of Equitable Life, by the time I moved my pension to my present employer's own fund, it was worth less than I'd paid in over the years. At the time I joined Equitable Life, it was no longer offering the GAR policies that led to the court action by GAR policyholders. The non-GAR policyholders ended up losing much of their pension funds to pay out on the GAR claims.

So now I will have to work until I'm 70 or win the lottery.

Wow, that's a wild story, essexjan. A lot of companies in the US are finding that they can't deliver the retirement benefits they promised now that all the baby-boomers are retiring and the check is due. Sad, really- it's a different world. The time where you could work for a company for 20 years and get a pension is gone. It'll require different planning from everybody- from the government to companies on down to each individual. I just hope we can all get the through it together somehow.

TPS: while you're at it tell the kids another thing I wish I'd learned: stay in touch with your college friends, it's too late when you read about them 15 years later.

::notes it down::

Will do, StickyCarpet.