Although it doesn't seem like much, the fact is that saving just $1 per day can be significant in terms of your long-term goals. When you think about typical goals like funding your children's education or saving for retirement, the key is that you are talking about time. Making time work for you, in other words beginning to save as early as possible (today), can yield tremendous results when the money is left alone to compound over time. How much can your money grow if you put just $1 per day ($30/month) into a good, long-term investment vehicle? The amount depends on time and your investment return. If you were saving for a college fund, and you began when your child was born, you would be investing over 18 years. If you are saving for retirement and you began early, you might be looking at as much as 40 years or more.

Two questions come to mind. Can you find an investment that will allow $1 per day ($30/month)? Can you find investments with the potential to return between 8-12% annually over time? The answer to both questions is yes, and while a number of investment options are available to you, the recommended investment choice for most people is mutual funds.