Do you want to do what you want, wherever and whenever you want, and money is not a problem? Would you like to go on the longest vacation of your life, and actually be able to afford it?

Sounds like one of the best prospects in the world, right?

Sounds like one of the best prospects in the world, right? J

Well, believe it or not, there is something like this, and it's called retirement. If you're smart and disciplined with your money now, you'll retire from work one of these days and be able to do what you want, when you want, where you want.

Isn't that what you want? And isn't that one of the more important reasons (although at a teenager's age, it's probably not #1 on your list) why we work?

But here's a tough fact: Two out of three millennials will not have enough money to retire, ever*. This means that making that long vacation a reality may come as a challenge.

How is this happening? Largely through wasting money making impulse buys.

Get this: A whopping 95% of millennials say that they have recently made an impulse buy—an unplanned purchase. And about 70% of these purchases happened online**.

Sound familiar? You're shopping online for a pair of sneakers, and also throw in a t-shirt and a new belt. Hey, they were on sale.

Plus, if you're like most millennials, you will throw away, burn forever, five hundred thousand dollars in unplanned and generally unnecessary purchases over your lifetime. There's research to support this. Unfortunately, that's probably a low figure. If you want to see how much you're likely to throw away, take our impulse buying test, to calculate how much you personally could throw away. Details below...

Would a half million dollars help support your longest vacation? Absolutely.

Why is all this happening? A big part is that marketers of the world are after your money!

• Marketers aren't your babysitters—the marketer's job is not to watch after your budget or tell you to be a disciplined shopper.

• Most marketers don't want you to just make planned purchases (which is your best, easiest and only way to avoid impulse buying).

• They don't encourage common sense when it comes to spending money.

• They love you when you let your emotions drive the buying process.

• It's not the job of the a marketer to encourage you to set up an emergency fund that will last 3 months in case you lose your job or get hurt and can't work.

What can you do right now to stop this madness?

You've got to stop all that impulse buying. And only you can stop it!

• First, head to FoolProof's Gullibility Test and determine how much you're personally throwing away. Prepare to be shocked, but be prepared to learn from that site, too.

• Next, start looking at web surfing as a very expensive habit. The next time you're tempted to spend a dime online—or even in a store— ask yourself this question: Do I really need this, or do I just want this?

• Every week, keep a tab of what you wanted but did not buy that week—and instantly transfer that money into a savings account. Sock that money away before you do anything else with it.

• Want to learn more about smart saving? Go to FoolProof Solo, sign up for an account and start working through M18: Time Travel.

This isn't like balancing the national budget. You can do this. And it will make the longest vacation of your life a reality.

Good luck!

Cheers, Will

* Source: www.washingtonpost.com

** Source: www.bankrate.com