Carlton and Will

“Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas.”

Paul Samuelson

Imagine we have two best friends, Carlton and Will.

Carlton began investing at 20 and told Will it would be a good idea to begin saving for retirement.

Will’s rebuttal was that investing was too hard and he didn’t have time.

So Carlton began investing at 20:

  • Initial Investment: $2,000

  • Monthly Investment: $250

  • Average return/year: 8%

And it took Carlton five years to convince Will to begin investing.

Wills portfolio starting at 25:

  • Initial Investment: $2,000

  • Monthly Investment: $250

  • Average return/year: 8%

What they ended up with at 65:

  • Carlton: $1,399,753

  • Will: $927,117

It doesn’t take a bachelor’s degree to understand how paying yourself first works.

The best time to start is today.

The second best is tomorrow.