I think money is the great enabler, assuming you don't spend it. Making a nice chunk of it early on makes the rest of your life better--you can choose exactly what you'd like to work on, relationships are statistically better, and your blood pressure will be at lower levels for the rest of your life. Freedom is the one thing that money can buy, and the great thing about it is that it never has to leave your bank account in order to buy it. :-)