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Cost of delay calculator
“I’ll start next year” is the most expensive sentence in personal finance. Here is what it costs in rupees.
The arithmetic of waiting
Take ₹10,000 a month for 25 years at 12%. Starting today grows to about ₹1.9 crore. Starting five years later, with the same monthly amount and the same end date, gives about ₹1 crore. The five missing years cost roughly ₹90 lakh, even though only ₹6 lakh of contributions was skipped, because the earliest money compounds for longest.
To reach the same ₹1.9 crore after a five-year delay, you would need about ₹19,000 a month instead of ₹10,000.
Questions
Should I wait for the market to fall before starting?
Nobody times the market reliably, and waiting has a known cost shown above. A SIP spreads purchases over time, which reduces the risk of starting at a peak.
What if I can only invest a little now?
Start with what you can and raise it every year. A small SIP started today usually beats a large one started years later. Try the step-up SIP calculator.