Back when my children had summer jobs, I urged them to save some of the money they earned in a retirement account, an IRA. “If you save now, it will grow into a large amount of money by the time you are 65.” Somehow, promising children age 18-20 wealth when they reached age 65 didn’t sound like an attractive proposition. So they spent their earnings. But I could still set up an IRA for each of them, which I did, and deposited an amount equal to what they earned during the summer (which was less than the maximum that could be contributed). They didn’t pay federal income tax on their earnings anyway, so the IRA deduction wasn’t of any value, but they were started on their way to having a retirement account. Providing I can persuade them not to withdraw the money and spend it before retirement. Suppose they had $10,000 in the account by age 25. If they earned 9% on average until 65, that $10,000 would grow to $320,000. There’s no telling what that will be worth at 65, but it will be a lot more valuable than zero.