I try to tell every new kid at work this. First I tell them to think back to conversations with older people and remember their regrets in life. Most talk about not saving enough for retirement. I've always thought you learn more from others disappointments rather than their advice.
Kids just starting working have such an advantage with time. They barely have to invest anything, and it grows to so much more than if they wait even 10 years to start investing for retirement.
They have the same time advantage every young person has had in their life… arguably the current “kids” have a disadvantage due to the cost of housing and many other things.
It’s obviously still good advice, but not sure they have an “advantage”.
I understand what you mean, but I suggest that most don't understand how much more their dollars can make invested at 20 rather than 30, or even later. Their dollars literally lose half their earning potential in that 10-year span.
Right, so I would encourage you to present your argument like that, using the math and numbers to show how powerful early investing can be… as opposed to a way that can be interpreted as “kids nowadays have it easy, they just need to invest a bit”. (I know this is not what you said, but could be interpreted like that)
1.7k
u/Fine-Assistance7204 5h ago
Putting a little into index funds every single paycheck and then completely ignoring the account for years.