Think back to when you got your first paycheck. Maybe you framed it. Maybe you cashed it and put a down payment on a new car.

Bet you didn’t think: “Wow! What a great chance to start saving for retirement!”

I’d venture to say that hardly any of my friends are thinking about saving and investing for when they reach old age. For Gen Y-ers, who tend to switch jobs every two years, even the thought of settling down in a permanent career seems light years away. So much for job security. So much for pensions.

I think most of us are conscious of the fact that we won’t have the same safety net to fall back on as our parents will when they retire. It’s a scary idea, but one that often gets pushed to the backs of our minds in the face of other matters.

Case in point: I talked to a friend yesterday who works two jobs. He bemoaned the fact that after plunking down money for various bills, tuition and car payments, he is basically living paycheck-to-paycheck. So, you can’t blame him if at the end of the month, putting an extra $100 into an IRA or a 401(k) isn’t foremost on his mind — IF there is even money left over.

“I try to, but then I realize I have no money,” he said. “It’s all gone.”

So, how do you convince a quarterlifer with a modest income to look 40 years down the road? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s about setting long-term goals, like owning a house in Hawaii, and then realizing that there is no way you’ll achieve that goal unless you start doing something about it right now.

Here are some starting suggestions the experts have for saving:

1) Avoid running up high credit card bills, and pay off credit card debt. Consolidate student loans.

2) Open a high-interest savings account, and have a set amount automatically deducted from your paycheck and directed to it each month. Realize that time is on your side if you start saving early. Find a new appreciation for compound interest.

3) Open a Roth IRA and contribute to your 401(k).

4) Live with roommates to save on rent, or, if you are OK with it — live at home with parents.

5) Keep an emergency cash reserve that can go to pay for 3 to 6 months of expenses.

6) Check out this article from the Washington Post, which profiles three 20-somethings who are saving for retirement.

And if that doesn’t encourage you to start saving now, well, maybe this will.