Under 25? Stop reading this site and go have some fun

"If I promise to stop blindly putting my money into whatever mutual fund my adviser recommends, will you promise me that you'll do something frivolous for yourself this year?" my sister asked me the other night.

She was about to get a substantial raise at work, and asked me to drive with her to a family function so she could pick my brain for financial advice on the way. When I'd finished my tirade about why she owes it to herself to at least read the portfolio updates she's regularly sent, she told me that if I was willing to help her she'd try. The conversation then turned to my own obsession with finding permanent employment in the media, and her making me promise to buy myself something nice or go on a trip every once in a while instead of religiously diverting my paycheque into my ING high-interest savings account.

As much as I'm proud of myself for diligently tracking ny net worth online, contributing to my RRSPs every year, accumulating a more diversified dividend-heavy stock portfolio and ferreting away money for a downpayment on a home in the next few years, I must admit -- even I think I get carried away sometimes. I'm currently saving somewhere in the neighbourhood of about 35% of my monthly income every month.

I'm 26, and that means I'm precisely the audience that Rob Carrick was writing to in his excellent column in Report on Business this morning.

The gist? if you're under 25, it's OK to spend a little cash and enjoy your life while you can. The financial services indsutry will get their claws into you at some point, so there's no point in hurrying the process until you have to.

To me, that's just more of what makes Rob probably the best financial columnist in the country.

To Rob Carrick and my sister, I say: it's a deal. I'm planning a few road-trip vacations in the next little while.

To the personal finance bloggosphere, I say: don't worry -- I'm sure I won't go nuts.