“The greatest asset a young investor has is not money, it’s time.” — Traditional Financial Wisdom

Time is the investor’s greatest ally. The early investor puts in a fraction of the money but ends up with a significantly larger nest egg, simply because those first 10 years of contributions had an extra three decades to compound.

The math behind starting early versus starting late is significant. Consider two hypothetical investors, both earning a 7% annual return:

“The power of compounding is so great that the first few years of an investment matter more than the next twenty. Don’t wait to buy real estate or stocks; buy them and wait.” — Louis Glickman

Early investing is the closest thing to a real-life cheat code because of compounding. You don’t need a massive amount of cash; you just need a head start.

The math tells the story:

• Person A starts investing just $100 a month at age 18. They do this until they turn 28, and then never put another dime in. They just let it sit.

• Person B waits until they are 28, and then invests $100 a month for the next 37 years until retirement.

Bottom line: “You don’t have to be wealthy to start investing, but you have to start investing to build wealth. Time is the most valuable asset you will ever own as a young investor—don’t waste it.”