The opportunity to enjoy life and to be financially free is for everyone to experience at every age. But how do you begin to excel at something you don’t understand? Do it in the same way you do now--learn, take action and keep the momentum going.

How do you prepare for your financial future? The answer is easy: it’s done the same way in which you began your college career and how you will find your dream job: by becoming informed and taking action. Begin with assembling helpful resources, leverage your network and then invest in your future. This month we’ll focus on what perspective you must have in order to craft a financially successful life.

First, why are you in college? Most students attend school in order to prepare for a life doing something they love. And why do we work? To leave a legacy, to enjoy ourselves and to earn money. Money allows us to afford opportunity.

With finances, it’s easy to rob ourselves of opportunity by making the wrong decisions, delaying action and not leveraging our resources. There’s something very critical that’s coming down the pipeline: two thirds of Baby Boomers don’t have enough time left to be able to save up enough to retire. That’s two out of three of your or your friend’s grandparents! Why is that? The high numbers almost don’t make any sense. They had the same tools available to them as you do today.

One answer to this issue is that many Baby Boomers didn’t start contributing to their retirement early enough to allow compounded interest to work in their favor. But it can for you. You’ve got the benefit of many years ahead of you to create financial sustainability for your future self. The sooner you start, the more time the compounded interest has to accrue. Though retirement might seem as far away as the moon, it's closer than you think. We need to shift the paradigm about when is the right time to start saving for the future. It’s easy to think that retiring is for elders and since you’re not “old” it’s not for you to consider at this time in your life...except it is. Start early and leverage your time to your advantage.

Retirement is for everyone. We all face it and we all should be planning for it as soon as we start working.

Whichever life path you choose, I guarantee you, your career ends best when you are financially free and empowered!

By Onna Young