Guys (and girls). People. Whatever. Remember back in college when some well-intentioned adult told you that you should start saving early to take advantage of the power of compound interest? And remember how you were like “yeah, yeah, I’m 21 years old, I’ve got loads of time. Besides, I’m living month-to-month, how do you also expect me to save?” And then remember how you kind of forgot about it all?
Check out this chart:
If you had just put aside $2/day, or $60/month starting from the age of 20, and invested it – you’d have $1 million by the age of 65. Even now, at the ripe old age of 35, I’ll have $1 million by the age of 65, as long as I’m putting away $350/month.
You might say “I need WAY more than $1 million for when I retire” (I actually have no clue how much I’ll need – something I’ll figure out in the next few months) – but even so, fine. Double that and put $700/month into your retirement account, and you’ll have $2.4 million – of which $2.2 million is interest accumulation, and only $250,000 is your actual deposits.
Whaaaaaaatttt?
Go to this website and have some fun with a compound interest calculator. You’ll be amazed at what’s possible.
And if you’re not already investing for the long-term, start. Right now. There’s no excuse.
Austerity Kate 