This is what I'm trying to teach my grands! Show this video to your teenagers. The miracle of compounding interest.

[Larry Caldwell]

Investing is all well and good. But, I think the two points that need to be taught are:

Save (or invest) off the top, not what is left over.

More importantly, live within your means.

Those two principals have served my wife and I well. I was in the military for 20 years. For our first years we did not have any chips or soft drinks in the house, we could not afford it. Even a few years later we could only afford to go out for pizza once a month.


Doug in SW IA

I still remember the first time I ever walked in on my folks while they were splitting a 6-pack. I was shocked. When I said so, they told me they always liked beer, but couldn't afford it. They were in their early 60s and set for a very comfortable retirement. Years past my own retirement, the habits I learned from them have served me well. If you don't need it, don't buy it. If you can possibly avoid it, don't spend money on anything that will end up in the junkyard or the septic tank.