How to Turn Your Dumb Summer Job Into $162,000

In which John celebrates financial independence by explaining how minimum-wage summer jobs can become incredibly lucrative if only you save some of your money in a retirement account. In the US, the most common retirement accounts are called IRAs (IRAs have tax advantages), but any investment account will do. Just sock the money away in a low-fee diverse mutual fund, wait 50 years, and enjoy the magic of compound interest.

Caveat: Obviously, I am not a financial advisor or investment professional. I am a novelist. Also, while it's a good idea to start an IRA in high school for most people, it may be a BAD idea if you're planning to seek financial aid from a private college in the US, because they might count your retirement savings against your financial aid application. (If you attend or will attend a public university, this is unlikely to happen according to my research, although again, I am a novelist, not a banker.)

There are a LOT of nerdfighters in the voting round for YouTube NextUp Europe. You can vote here: http://www.youtube.com/nextup

Nerdfighters to vote for include:

missxrojas (who gave The Fault in Our Stars its title)
DeEelcoShow
BarryAldridge
dutchforn00bs
booksandquills
OMFGItsJackAndDean
tristopiatv
willsodyssey
thegearskeepturning
musicfromblueskies
tyrannosauruslexxx

EDIT: Islamic banking does not use interest, so this particular piece of financial planning advice does not hold water in the Islamic world. (But I still advocate for beginning to save early!)