The key:
Start early!

The sooner you begin, the more you can make the power of compound interest work for you.

Say you want to invest $100 each month. (We’ll use U.S. dollars for this example, but the approach works for any currency.) And let’s assume your investments earn 4% annually.


Starting at age 25, you’d contribute $48,000 to your investment over 40 years. But thanks to compound interest, you end up with much, much more: $114,031.


Here’s how starting later — and investing $48,000 in monthly increments over time — can mean missing out.