If you are 20 years old and you want to raise $100,000 by the time you are age 65, you would need to invest only $1372.00 once at a 10% annual return to reach that goal. A 50 year old would have to invest $24,000 to reach the same goal.
If a 30 year old saves $100.00 per month until age 65, earning 10% per year, the resulting account would be worth $379,664. If this person waited just one more year to start saving, at age 31 instead of age 30, the account at age 65 would be worth $342,539, a $37,125 difference.