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Are you up for the challenge?
Many of us may remember passing up a chance to fold to peer pressure during our adolescent and teen years. But that pressure doesn't always involve alcohol or double-dog dares. There's the pressure to spend money, too. Not everyone can ace the test of forgoing frivolous splurging.
According to a recent article in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, the perceptions that young adults have of those in their social network -- or core group of friends -- and how they spend have an effect on their own spending habits.
Basically, a young adult is more likely to rack up charges on his credit card if his buddies are already doing the same.
But there is a unique group of "20-something supersavers," as a Center for Retirement Research at Boston College blog post calls them. This "rare species" of whippersnappers fights the urge to spend more on mocha Frappuccinos from Starbucks and new threads from Abercrombie & Fitch -- they actually save money.
Take Jennifer and John Lucido, for example. Either of the married couple is barely 30 years old and, already, they have $250,000 socked away in the bank, according to the Center for Retirement Research post.
Huh?
While it wasn't easy, Jennifer and John were able to put their money to work. Even with high-paying jobs and pay raises, they never lost sight of the importance of saving. After all, just as most others, they have to keep retirement in mind.
But just how much money can one save for retirement -- say, in a 401(k) plan?
According to Bankrate's 401(k) savings calculator, if you make a $3,000 monthly salary and contribute 3 percent to your 401(k), along with your employer's 3 percent matching contribution, with 45 years left until retirement, you can expect to have a little more than $985,000 waiting for you. That's with an 8 percent rate of return.
How do you plan to reach your savings goal?
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