If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.

Benjamin Franklin

This may seem a little premature, especially if you dont even have a real job yet, but one day you will want to retire. Who do you think will pay for that retirement? You will. And how will you pay for it? By savingnowand not spending your savings until you do retire.

Lets take a look at what it means to retire. You stop working, yes, but your personal expenses continue. Some people actually spend more money in retirement than they did while working.

Why? Because they have more time on their hands. Theyre not tied up at work five days a week, and unless they sit at home, theres a good chance theyll find ways to spend money. Add to that the desire to take some vacations that had been put off while working, and you have a recipe for higher expenses in the golden years.

Now back to the cost of retirement. You need to start saving nowwhen you can least afford toso that youll have enough to retire when the time comes. Financial experts estimate that, with inflation factored in, todays young adult will need between two and three million dollars on their first day of retirement. That sounds like a lot, but it isnt were just talking about a modestly comfortable retirement.

Why is it important to start saving right away? Because the money you save today will be worth more than the money you save later. Heres what I mean:

Lets say you set aside $1,000 at age 22. It earns 7 percent interest per year, compounded monthly. When you retire at, say, age 65, that $1,000 will be worth about $20,000. By contrast, if you start to save the same $1,000 at 42, it will be worth less than $5,000 when youre 65.

This little illustration shows the power of compounding: as your money grows, you earn interest not just on your original $1,000 but on the interest as well. It takes time for this to work the way it shouldthe more time, the better.

Get in the habit of saving now and I mean right now. As mentioned earlier, you might think you cant afford to save right now, but you have to. Figure out a way to do it; youll thank me when youre 65.

Excerpted from The Graduates Book of Practical Wisdom: 99 Lessons They Cant Teach in School by C. Andrew Millard, published by Morgan James Publishing, available in bookstores and online. &opy; 2008 by C. Andrew Millard; all rights reserved. For more information visit www.wisegraduate.com.