By obtaining a firm grasp of the fundamentals of financial management, consumers can create savings and spending plans that are compatible with their earnings throughout their lives and that help them meet their short- and long-term life goals.
Turning to retirement savings in particular, workers entering the labor force today will bear more of the risk of financial security later in life than workers of a generation ago. Far fewer workers will be covered by defined-benefit pension plans established by their employers, which provide pre-set  6  “College Students and Credit Cards,” (1,082KB PDF) Government Accountability Office, June 2001.