Everyone knows they should start investing early. Yet the average American doesn't start investing until age 33. The reasons are always reasonable: student loans, low starting salary, wanting to "learn more first," waiting until things "settle down."
But each year of delay carries a price tag most people never calculate. And it's shockingly high.
The One-Year Price Tag
Let's say you plan to invest $500/month in a broad stock market index fund averaging 10% annually, and you want to see what your portfolio looks like at age 65.
Starting at 25: ~$3,162,000 at 65. Starting at 26: ~$3,054,000 at 65. That one year costs you roughly $108,000 in lost compound growth. And it gets worse as you delay further.
Starting at 30 instead of 25: you lose approximately $660,000. Starting at 35 instead of 25: you lose approximately $1,500,000. This isn't hypothetical — it's the mathematical cost of compound interest working for fewer years.
It's Not Just Investing
The cost of delay applies to nearly every financial decision, and the compounding effect is often larger than people realize.
Delaying Debt Payoff
If you have a $5,000 credit card balance at 22% APR and you make only minimum payments, waiting one year to start aggressively paying it off costs you roughly $1,100 in additional interest — and that's just on a $5,000 balance. For people with $20,000+ in high-interest debt, a single year of minimum payments can cost $4,000-5,000 in pure interest.
Delaying Your 401(k) Match
If your employer matches 50% of your contributions up to 6% of a $70,000 salary, that's $2,100/year in free money. Every year you delay is $2,100 gone forever — plus the compound growth that money would have generated. Over a 35-year career, one year of skipping the match costs roughly $35,000 in total lost wealth.
Delaying Home Purchase (Sometimes)
This one cuts both ways. In an appreciating market, waiting a year to buy can mean a higher purchase price. But rushing to buy before you're financially ready is worse. The cost of delay here depends entirely on your local market and financial situation.
Why We Delay (And Why the Reasons Don't Hold Up)
"I'll start when I make more money"
This is the most common excuse and the most costly. Investing $100/month starting now is better than investing $500/month starting five years from now. The math is clear: time beats amount. And studies show that as income rises, so does spending — the extra money often never materializes for investing.
"I need to learn more first"
You don't need to learn much. Open a brokerage account, buy a total stock market index fund, set up automatic monthly contributions. That's the strategy that beats 90% of professional fund managers over the long term. You can learn while doing — but you can't get time back while learning.
"The market is too high / too volatile / about to crash"
The market has always been "too high" or "about to crash" according to someone. People who waited for a crash in 2012 missed a 300%+ run-up. Time in the market consistently beats timing the market. If you invest consistently over decades, the entry point barely matters.
The 30-Day Challenge
If you've been putting off investing, here's a challenge: within the next 30 days, open a brokerage account (Fidelity and Schwab are both excellent with no minimums) and set up an automatic monthly investment of whatever you can afford — even if it's $25.
You're not committing to a specific amount forever. You're committing to starting. You can increase the amount later when you're earning more. But the one thing you can't do later is get today back.
📈 See the Cost of Waiting With Our Calculator →The Bottom Line
Every year of delay has a six-figure price tag when compounded over a full career. The "right time" to start investing is always now — not when you've paid off all debt, not when you've learned enough, not when the market dips. Now. Start small if you have to, but start. Your future self will thank you for every month of compound growth you gave them.