Assuming I have a time horizon >10 years.
Specifically if for retirement, time is your best friend. Anything you can put aside will be multiplied down the years and be much more when you need it most
Yes. So much yes.
It would be worth it with even $10. Do it.
Yes, in 35 years with compound interest that would end up between 35-85k ;) sounds great to me
$50 per month for thirty five years saved with no interest at all is $21k, so I can absolutely understand the point of view that it’s not worth it if you’re currently struggling to scrape by to wait 35 years for what might be just an extra $14k
If that $50 has literally no other use to you, then great, if that $50 can provide fair value for you now, it’s a much tougher decision.
I blew a lot of my money when i was younger, something I don’t regret spending lots of money on is decent tools, they can last a lifetime if taken care of and can save you money in the long run if you learn to do your own work. Sometimes stuff now is a better investment but it can be super specific depending on your situation.
I absolutely agree. I used to have no choice but to buy budget and have to deal with it when stuff inevitably failed and broke. But now I’m much more financially stable, I made a commitment to buy quality when I can, the old “buy once, cry once” mantra.
With clothes I’m in the best of both worlds. I’m a proper hawk for charity shops and if you’re patient you can get both budget and quality. I bought a £100 shirt for £3 the other day and it looked like it had never even been worn, there’s no reason it won’t last me decades if I look after it. Good riddance to TK MAXX and fast fashion. They’re especially good for suits and smart shirts as a lot of men only get them out for interviews and weddings, meaning they are usually in great condition and can be bought at a tiny fraction of the original price, you just have to be patient waiting for ones that are the correct size for you.
Taking a step further, if the last thirty five years are any indication, that future $21k would be worth less than today’s $10k.
Besides, to overcome inflation, you’d need to average double digit returns on your investment every year for half a lifetime.
Like you say, it’s a tough decision if there’s anything that can provide you value now. Not to argue against savings, but expecting it to grow exponentially with no effort is folly.
Yes. Investing is always worth it unless you have credit card debit.
Set it up to automatically invest into the lowest fee index fund your broker offers.
The lowest fee ETHICAL index fund. Careless investing is how we got evil corporations.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many ethics in the world when it comes to money.
Several funds in my bank have ESG in the name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental,_social,_and_governance
Other terms in their fund names: fossil-free, climate, forest, sustainable agriculture.
Their claims about them:
in Finnish:
https://www.s-pankki.fi/fi/private-banking-ja-varainhoito/vastuullisuus-ja-vaikuttavuus/vastuullisuus-sijoittamisessa/
in Swedish:
https://www.s-pankki.fi/sv/private-banking-och-kapitalforvaltning/ansvarsfullhet-och-paverkan/ansvarsfulla-investeringar/
For machine translation, probably better use Swedish as the source because it shares the Indo-European language family with many of you readers’ target languages, and has more speakers so maybe better translation engine training too.
