[hedgetrimmer]

But I will still maintain that one should save a couple of thousand per year, starting as soon as he gets a job, planning for the day when he either can not, or chooses to not, work.

You view things through the lens of your own experience. What if your job only paid you $12/hour? How would you save a couple of thousand a year on that wage, with gas, housing, medical insurance rising all the time? You know, it is the lowly wage earner that is paying for the illegal immigrant benefit package, and the building of infrastructure in foreign countries so businesses can outsource there without risking any of their capital. How is the lowly wage earner to save, when the whole world is looting his country and his taxes to pay for globalism?

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

What if your job only paid you $12/hour?

Well, that's $24,000/year. I can't believe that someone can't find a way to save 5% of his income. Yes, I was there once, right out of school, not saving **by choice** because I wanted the new car. Here are a couple (of MANY) ways to do it:

1) Don't eat out every day - $5/day times 260 working days/year = $1300/year. Instead put $4/day in the bank and spend $1 bringing your lunch.

2) Buy a 25 year old diesel VW Rabbit (pickup truck or sedan) for $2000. It will run forever and get 44 mpg (learn how to work on cars if you have to). If you drive 20,000 miles per year rather than an F150 pickup you will save about $1500/year. Put that in the bank.