Some tasks can be safely left for the last minute, such as shoestring-tying and Mother’s Day card-buying – anything more important could only benefit from a little foresight. To all graduating seniors: commencement hair and makeup can wait until the last minute; your financial security cannot.

With corporate giants such as Caterpillar and Nissan slashing tens of thousands of jobs, the market looks tight. Bloggers and columnists will offer tip after tip to students entering the job market, but one timeless suggestion stands as true today as it did when our great-grandparents gave it to our grandparents: save.

David Bach, columnist for Yahoo! Finance, offered college grads “Five Tips for a Great Life After Graduation” in a May 2006 column. He used most of his words to inspire courage and self-confidence, but the most important bit of wisdom Bach imparted is the most difficult to adopt: save.

“If you start by saving just $10 a day . you’ll have $678,146 in savings 30 years from now, assuming a 10 percent annual rate of return. In 40 years, you’d have $1,897,244,” according to finance.yahoo.com.

Granted, Bach’s scenario assumes a high annual percentage rate and about $300 contribution every month. It also assumes the account holder will not need emergency cash for the next 30-40 years.

Regardless of your monthly income and the strategy’s idealism, the principle holds true: the sooner you begin saving – no matter how little – the more you will have when you need it most.

Charles Schwab, chairman of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, said too many people are obtaining mortgages they do not understand and cannot afford, while others lack skills to keep a budget, understand credit or save for the future, according to the Associated Press.

“While there are many causes to the economic problems facing the country, it is undeniable that a lack of financial literacy is a contributing factor,” Schwab wrote in the council’s January report.

Popular culture, not to the individual’s benefit, tries endlessly to disprove any reason to save. The assimilation of Internet and television in our culture makes consumerism all the more appealing. The faster technology advances, the sooner consumers can grab week-old gadgets at reduced prices; but the true definition of “need” remains unchanged.

Buy what you need and occasionally purchase what you want – if you must. But learn from millions who have gone before you and ended their careers with a few grand in the bank: save as much as you can. You will not regret it.