The Price of Waiting

Invest $200 a month from age 25, earning a historical average of 10% a year, and by 65 you have roughly $1.3 million. Start the same plan at 35 instead, and you reach about $450,000.

That one decade of waiting cost around $800,000 — and not because you put in less. You deposited barely more either way. The missing money is growth that never had time to happen. Compounding needs runway, so the best time to start was years ago. The next best time is today.