When should kids start driving? Older is better!

I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18, for 2 reasons: first, I was afraid of driving and secondly, as geeky as this sounds, I preferred to save my money and invest it, not blow it on a car, sky-high insurance premiums, and increasingly expensive gas. And then there are the other expenses that come with having a car: increased meals out, $1.29 a bottle water at convenience stores and, of course, repairs.

All in all, I would estimate that I saved more than $10 thousand by waiting an extra 2 years to get a car and start driving. And I hate to be that guy but, if you can save $10 thousand by the time you're 18 and invest it at 10% for the next 50 years, you'll accumulate more than $1.1 million. If more people, or perhaps just some people, had done that a generation ago, perhaps we wouldn't have to endure endless concern about baby boomers facing a declining standard of living in retirement.