Cost of Delaying Savings Calculator

"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it." — Albert Einstein

In an age of increasing economic uncertainty establishing an emergency savings account is more important than at any other point in history. Unfortunately most people do not have much of a safety cushion.

What savings represents is freedom & beginning saving a few years early can have a profound impact on the amount you have saved for retirement — or if you'll even be able to afford to retire. In an always-on consumer-driven economy where people show off on social media it can be hard to delay gratification, but the value of doing so can be quite profound.

The following table shows how much a person will have saved 30 years from today, provided:

• they start with $0
• they make a regular $200 monthly contribution
• they achieve a 6.6% rate of return, which is what the S&P 500 averaged with dividends reinvested from January 1, 1970 to December 31, 2016