Colin H. Bryant

Age: 28

Associate at private equity firm, Washington

Colin Bryant's grandmother used to pore over stock prices in the newspaper, teaching Bryant and his cousins the rules of investing. One of his early buys was Toys R Us, which he recalled as "a very attractive investment when you're 10 years old."

He held on to that stock until last year, and made a profit -- a lesson in the benefits of staying in for the long haul.

"I tend to look at the long term on things," said Bryant, now an associate at Paladin Capital Management. "I try to invest in things that I know, solid companies that can keep performing."

Bryant's philosophy doesn't change when it comes to planning for his retirement.

"We came out of this generation where we grew up in the tech boom. We all saw the market rise and then fall very rapidly," he said. "I think when people our age are planning for our retirement, you know, shooting for a 15 percent return on average over the next 20 years doesn't sound like a lot. But you have the power of compounding."

It's an approach that would likely make his grandmother proud.

"You have to kind of look at your own budget and realize what's important to you," he said. "Is it spending the dollar now or having the two or three dollars later?"

-- Ylan Q. Mui