Compared to how much a person needs to retire, it's not much. But getting started is the important part.

Answer: $15,000

Questions:

• Why do you think it is so important to start saving for retirement at a young age?
• Where do you think most people put their retirement savings: a savings account or the stock market?
• When do you think that you will start to save for your retirement?
  

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (CNBC):

You should think of planning for retirement as something you do throughout your career, not just when you have a large salary.

“The most important thing is to start saving as early as possible and consistently over time because that is really what ends up building up your balance at retirement,” says Eliza Badeau, vice president of thought leadership at Fidelity.

Although retirement may seem far away, it’s better to start saving early because it allows you to ride out the highs and lows of the market, says Badeau.

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Play our investing game, STAX, and learn about the benefits of a simple strategy (spoiler: it involves index funds!)

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More investing resources can be found on the Investing Unit Page 

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.