Save as much as you can, as early as you can, for as long as you can!

1. Save early. If you can invest $5,000 a year starting at age 25. Boom! By 65, that’s more than a million bucks.

2. Save a lot. If you think of it more as a percentage of what you earn, you’ll feel better about doing it. So, automatically vow to save 10-20% of your paycheck. The key to success is just forgetting about it. If the company you work for when you’re older matches some of what you put away (some companies do that), that’s even more!

3. Live below your means. In order to still be able to do most of the things you want to do even though you’re saving a chunk, you need to be smart about what you buy. People who do this successfully learn how to sacrifice early — before you get married, buy a house, and have a family of your own, that way you don’t have to sacrifice later.

4. Pay yourself first. As you progress in your career, you’ll receive annual raises that can help boost your lifestyle and your investments.  The trick is that as you make more, don’t drastically change your lifestyle. Still live basically the same, but take that extra money and save even more. Overall, that extra investing adds up big time!

5. No excuses. If you company has something called a 401(k) plan that matches some of what you put in, never leave that free money on the table!