When people talk about investing, they usually focus on picking the right stocks, finding the best funds, or timing the market just right. But there’s something even more important than any of those things—when you start. Time is one of the most powerful tools in investing, and the longer you wait, the more money you’re likely to leave on the table. This isn’t just theory—it’s math, and it shows up clearly when we look at how early vs. late investing plays out over time.

A lot of people delay investing because they feel like they don’t have enough money. Others are intimidated by the stock market or are still paying down debt. Some are simply unsure of where to begin. These are real concerns, but the cost of waiting is often far higher than people realize. Even small, consistent investments made early on can grow into something substantial, thanks to the power of compound interest.

Let’s imagine two people, Emma and Jake. Emma starts investing $200 a month at age 25. She does this consistently for 15 years and then stops contributing altogether at age 40. She never adds another dime. Jake, on the other hand, waits until he’s 40 to start. He also invests $200 a month, but he keeps doing it until he’s 65.

So, who ends up with more money?

It might surprise you, but Emma, who invested for just 15 years and then stopped, ends up with more money than Jake, who invested for 25 years. That’s the power of starting early. Assuming an average return of 7% a year, Emma would end up with over $225,000 by age 65. Jake, despite investing for a longer time and putting in more money overall, would end up with around $180,000.

Why? Because Emma’s money had more time to grow. Compound interest is like a snowball rolling downhill—it gathers more and more as time goes on. The earlier you start rolling, the bigger your snowball will be at the bottom. Waiting, even for what seems like a good reason, means missing out on years of growth that you can never get back.

Opportunity cost is the technical term for what you miss when you choose one option over another. In the case of investing, the opportunity cost of waiting can be huge. The money you didn’t invest doesn’t just sit there quietly—it misses out on growth, dividends, and compounding returns. And those missed gains can add up to thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.

Even starting small makes a difference. Let’s say you only have $50 a month to invest. That doesn’t sound like much, but over 40 years, assuming that same 7% average return, that $50 a month could grow to nearly $120,000. If you waited 10 years to start, you’d end up with about half that amount. The difference isn’t because you invested more—it’s because you invested sooner.

There’s also a psychological benefit to starting early. The sooner you begin, the more comfortable you get with the ups and downs of the market. You learn how to stay calm during dips and resist the urge to panic sell. That experience builds confidence, which is one of the most underrated investing tools around. You become less focused on trying to time the market and more focused on simply staying in it.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’ll start investing “when things calm down” or “when you have more money.” But life rarely hands you a perfect moment. There will always be bills to pay, headlines that stir fear, or reasons to hesitate. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking.

That’s why the best time to start investing is now—not because markets are perfect or because you’ve figured everything out, but because time is the one thing you can’t make more of. Starting now doesn’t mean you have to be aggressive. It just means getting your money in motion so it can begin to grow.

You don’t need to go all-in on day one. Setting up automatic contributions to a retirement account or a brokerage account is a great place to start. Even small, consistent amounts build a habit and get your investment snowball rolling. Over time, as your income grows and your financial situation improves, you can increase your contributions. But by then, your early dollars will already be hard at work.

There’s an old saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today. Investing works the same way. If you’ve been waiting, now is your moment to start. You don’t need a perfect plan or a big lump sum. You just need to start.

The future may feel far away, but it arrives one day at a time. And when it does, you’ll be glad you didn’t wait. You’ll be thankful that even in small ways, you chose to invest in yourself and your future. The cost of waiting is real, but so is the reward of starting.

So don’t let uncertainty or hesitation hold you back. The sooner you begin, the more time your money has to grow. And that’s one investment decision you’re unlikely to regret.