[hugh3]

I think it's very important to instill saving behaviors early on in your adult life.

Why early in your adult life? People should begin saving as children.

My parents were sensible. I got my first bank account at the age of five, I think. They paid me some small amount of pocket money (two dollars a week?), and encouraged me to save it up to buy things I wanted, and to worship the magic of compound interest (it helps that interest rates were actually decent in those days). I enjoyed watching the amount in my bank account go up much more than I enjoyed actually buying things with it, so I got into good saving habits.

I can't fathom the idea of an adult (or at least, an adult with a job) not having a mere two grand in their savings account, and certainly not of having negative net wealth (ie credit card debt).

Parents! Teach your children about money early!

[david_elson]

I second this. My parents set up a notebook in their office that was my running checking account. Whenever I got a birthday check or earned some money, they would cash it in their own account and credit the value. Whenever I wanted to buy a toy, they would deduct the value. (You were lucky that you got compounded interest, though! My parental account had a zero interest rate.)

At the age of 10 I was acutely aware of the value of things and more concerned with keeping the balance on my imaginary account high than with having every toy or computer game I could see. To this day I don't like buying "stuff". It was an awesome parenting move.

[aquark]

Agreed -- but that worked much better when I could buy a 13% savings bond (late 80's) than showing my kids the <$1 month interest payment they get now.

I realize that inflation may well have eaten into that 13% hugely but as a pre/early-teen that didn't factor into my view.