Cost of Waiting to Invest
Compare investing regularly starting today versus delaying your monthly contributions. See how many future dollars you give up by waiting and how much extra you would have to save later to catch up.
Assumptions
You're still investing your existing starting balance the whole time. Only new monthly dollars are delayed.
5.0 yr
Contribution vs Growth
Scenario A: Invest now
Total contributions$360,000
Of which is growth$1,130,359
Future value$1,490,359
Scenario B: Wait 5.0 yrs to start monthly
Total contributions$300,000
Of which is growth$651,026
Future value$951,026
Invest now$1,490,359
Wait then invest$951,026
Bars show how much of your future balance comes from dollars you put in versus market growth. Waiting reduces both contributions made and years of compounding.
Headline Numbers
Invest now
$1,490,359
In 30.0 years at 8.0% APR.
Wait then invest
$951,026
Only 300 of 360 months have contributions.
Penalty for waiting$539,333
Missing contributions (never invested)$60,000
Lost growth on those contributions$479,333
By waiting 5.0 years to start monthly investing, you give up roughly $539,333 (36.2% of what you could have had) at the end of the 30.0-year horizon.
What it takes to catch up
If you wait 5.0 years but still want to end up with the same future value as “Invest now,” you'd need to increase your monthly contribution after you finally start.
- Current planned monthly (when you do start): $1,000
- Required monthly after waiting to fully catch up: $1,567
- Extra per month you'd need to find: $567
The longer you delay, the harder it becomes to close the gap later without significantly higher savings.
Plain-language Summary
- • You're planning to invest for 30.0 years at about 8.0% annual return.
- • Starting today, investing $1,000/month plus your current balance could grow to about $1,490,359.
- • If you delay monthly investing for 5.0 years, you end up with roughly $951,026 instead.
- • That delay costs you around $539,333 in future wealth, most of which is lost compounding on contributions you never made.