[originaltext] W: If you’re in your 20s, you own your first car, your career

W: If you’re in your 20s, you own your first car, your career is more or less launched, and you’re starting to look forward to owning a home. But you’re worried, too. Perhaps you’ve got some debt. You probably don’t have much in the way of savings. And with all your expenses, it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to improve that situation soon.
    If you wonder how to cut corners, there’s an obvious place to look at your spending habits.
    Do you buy a soda each weekend? Waste $1 a day for 40 years and, when you’re set to retire, you’ll find your account is short by $190,000. Grab a calculator and you’ll discover that, over 40 years going out to dinner twice a month at $ 40 each time amounts to half a million. Even a pack a day cigarette habit will lighten your retirement account by $ 330,000. And the same with cable TV and those cool ear rings. They will probably amount to as much as one million.
    So, the first clue to accumulating wealth is this: focus on your spending habits. Here are a couple of tricks to help you save even if you swear you can’t afford to. Stop buying things that fall rather than rise in value. Pay yourself first: Before you pay the monthly bills, send $ 25 to a mutual fund. Stop spending coins. From now on, spend only paper currency, and keep the change every day. Get your family involved, and you’ll double your savings. Use discount tickets at the supermarket—but use them correctly. How? If you really want to make these tickets worthwhile, you actually must invest into your mutual fund the amount you save by using the tickets. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time and your money.