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Comment by enraged_camel | Hacker News Reader

Pretty much. People need to start thinking about their career the moment they get their first job. This means planning out what kinds of skills they need to pick up to advance, opening a retirement account and putting as much money they can into it (compound interest), and never take anything for granted. Those who don't do these things in their 20s are basically going to be 10 years behind everyone who did.

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Compound interest at < 1% isn't going to make much difference over a decade. At > 1% risks losing principal, and inflation is probably > 1% now anyway, so that you lose money on savings. Money spent (rather than invested) in one's 20s offers greater opportunity for enjoyment than when in your 60s, when your choices are more limited, if you even reach your 60s. A balanced approach is best.

Money spent (rather than invested) in one's 20s offers greater opportunity for enjoyment than when in your 60s, when your choices are more limited

Would you care to elaborate on this? I don't (yet) have first-hand experience with being in my 60's, but I did watch my parents spend money to their great enjoyment after they retired in their 60's.

Exactly, my parents are in their 60's and both retired and are having a bloody great time. Golf, fast cars, lots of holidays, they're loving it.

Good for them. There's still more opportunity for enjoyment for younger folk, though. Even if a 60-something manages to do the same activity, like snowboarding, it's going to be done in a less youthful body. It's a big waste for 20-somethings to overly focus on their career in that decade, unless work is what they most enjoy.

>>Compound interest at < 1% isn't going to make much difference over a decade.

Huh? I'm not talking about a savings account here brother. I'm talking about retirement investment accounts like 401k and IRAs. In their 20s, the majority of those investments should be in stocks, which on average gain 9-10% per year. The compound interest on that is humongous.

Stocks don't average 9-10% per year, not anymore. Since the Dow was at 10K in 1999, the Dow has averaged 2.1% per year, with great volatility (ups/downs). Including dividends, maybe 4%. The gov't has fueled that relatively anemic growth with massive unsustainable borrowing and raping of the environment, so the past is definitely not an indicator of future performance.

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