William and James are twin brothers who are 65 years old.
45 years ago (at the end of the year when he reached 20), William started an IRA and put $2K in the account at the end of each year. After 20 years of contributions, William stopped making new deposits but left the accumulated contributions in the IRA fund. The fund produced returns of 10% per year tax-free.
James started his own IRA when he reached the age of 40 (just after William quit) and contributed $2K per year for 25 years, making his last contribution today. James invested 25% more money in total than William. James also earned 10% on his investments tax-free. What are the values of William’s and James’s IRA funds today?
Vintek sent along the answer in a spreadsheet. It’s eye-opening.
William has $1,365,227. James has $218,364. James invested 25% more than William, but through the magic of compounded returns, William’s IRA fund is worth more than six times as much! For some real fun, download the spreadsheet and plug in your own numbers. I’m having to contribute $5,000/year because I didn’t start in time. How about you?
(Note that the 10% assumption used in the charts and in the spreadsheet is arbitrary and for illustrative purposes only. An 8% return-on-investment is more realistic over the long term, and interest rates on CDs are half that. Still, the same principle applies regardless the rate, as long as the rates are consistent between sample cases.)
http://www.getrichslowly....terest-favors-the-young/
So yeah, cash is king, what do I need banks for, etc. Yes you can buy a house in cash. Yes you can buy a car in cash. But is it smart to have 600k in cash in your house safe? When it can be making a modest 5-8% in interest every year, then compounding? I know this thread was started just for regular bank accounts, but if you don't even trust them with that, then I know you guys won't be making any great investments. And having a savings through the bank doesn't cut it, you basically make no money off that.
I realize most people here are young, but save at an early age, put it into a T Rowe Price account or Vanguard account and you'll be rewarded later on. It can be risky, dependin on the route you take, but even with safe returns its much better. With a roth IRA you can only contribute 5k a year, but in the above example, the guy only put in 2k every year, for 20 years, starting at age 20. Then he stopped. thats 40k. He never touched it again. He ended up with
$1,365,227. Tell me if your shoe box can do that in your closet without you touching it.
Hopefully other members here who are knowledgable on this subject can jump in as well.