[69ConvertibleFirebird]

It seems that most people who do well (if they're not lawyer scum screwing people for $250,000/year) follow plans similar to yours. Don't live the "high life" with the new cars, etc. For example, with gas above $3.00 per gallon I'm perfectly happy. Along with my 14 mpg Sequoia I have a 25 year old diesel VW pickup truck. It gets 44 mpg commuting, 50 on the highway, saving me about $2000 per year just in fuel for the car. If at 20 years old someone put all of that in mutual funds, over 40 years (Harry's age) it would cover retirement alone.

[CindyDawg]

I have made lot's of mistakes. Times when I had more, I could have saved more. I have done the debt thing. I admire that you planned but some of us have been trapped or learned the hard way but that is is ok and since I've been there I don't judge. I know where a lot are coming from . I remember times of hunting for change for milk and diapers the day before payday. I don't know how I could have saved during those times. What I have learned is that I should try to be a good manager of what I have and that God always provides and I shouldn't worry. That said, I think Harry is a whiner and paying 3 dollars for gas irritates me to no end:').

[ladyjane]

Your post reminded me of an email I got the other day. It was about IRA's and the value of compound interest. It gave this example:

If you have $14,000 in your IRA by the time you're 26 (that's 2k a year for 7 years) you never have to put any more into it and you'll have more at retirement (about a million dollars) than the person who starts putting in 2k every year at the age of 26.