Clark Howard's Tips

Who wants to be a teenage millionaire?

September 4, 2008

Many employers match what employees contribute to a 401(k) plan up to a certain limit. Well, Clark extended the same offer to his teen daughter about 4 years ago. He calls it "the daddy match" and he puts a dollar into her Roth account for every dollar of her pay she saves.

It's no secret that getting a teen to start saving early will help insure their financial security later in life. Clark loves pointing to a chart that shows a teen who starts saving at 15 and puts aside $2,000 for 7 years will have more than $1 million at 65. That's assuming a return on investment of about 8%, of course.

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Money has a strong ally in time. Most financial models show that your money doubles in value every 9 years.

Syndicated financial writer Umberto Cruz recently crunched the numbers and found that a 20 year old who puts $2,000 in a Roth for 10 years will have just under $500K at retirement time. And that's with never having to save again! If you wait until you're 30 and save at the same rate, you'll only have $370K at 65. So the message is clear: The earlier you start saving, the better off you'll be.

The same thinking applies to your car purchase. The Wall Street Journal reports that if you buy a Toyota Camry instead of a BMW and invest the money you saved, you'll have about $26K after 10 years. Do it all over again 10 years later and you'll have about $100K in 20 years. This is proof that an isolated decision today can make a huge difference down the road.

More Clark Howard Money Management Tips Beware of impostor money market fund investments  Investigate charities thoroughly before giving them money  Clark's 529 Plan Guide has been updated!  Mandatory private accounts may solve SS dilemma  Free budgeting tools online!  Avoid the full-commission stock broker trap  Avoid the full-commission stock broker trap  Scams heat up when economy cools down  The dangers of purchasing employer stock  Free budgeting tools online!  Full list