Most people fritter their money away on flat screens, casinos, and other crap. I started putting into my 401k at 24, and now at almost 40 I have close to a 700k dollars. I had even more, but my ex made off with some of it. Each time you get a raise, put some of it into your retirement. You'll never miss it that way. I figure I need 2 million minimum to retire and maintain my standard of living for 30 years. I'm counting on zero SS or other help. 2 mill sounds like a lot, but that's only 150k a year. By the time they tax my withdrawals, and considering the rate of inflation, it's really the equivalent of about 60k take home a year when I reach retirement age.