If you earn a low to median income, traditional advice to invest 15%, 20%, or 25% of your income can feel overwhelming and unachievable. If you’re struggling to invest, aiming to invest just 1% more can be an achievable goal if investing 15%, 20%, or 25% is impossible on your current income.
And while easy to think that investing small amounts isn’t worth it, the reality is that investing 1% more of your income could make a substantial difference to your financial future even if you earn a low to median income. If you earn $30,000 to $55,000, investing 1% more of your income starting in your 20s or 30s could potentially add tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousand of dollars to your net worth by the time you turn 62.
Investing 1% more on a $30,000 income
If you earn $30,000 a year, you’re probably not investing anything, especially in this economy. But if you can manage to invest $25 a month—just 1% of your income—you could potentially make a substantial difference to your financial future.
Investing 1% more in your 20s
If you’re in your 20s and you earn $30,000 a year, investing 1% more of your income could mean that you have up to an extra $100k or even potentially an extra $200k by age 62—that 1% difference alone could put you ahead of the median retiree, who has just $142,500 in savings as of 2024.
This chart shows you that investing absolutely is still worth it on a low income:
Investing 1% more in your 30s
Even investing 1% more in your 30s could make a noticeable difference to your wealth by the time you retire. While you won’t see nearly as much growth as someone who makes this change in their early 20s, you still could see some benefit from investing $25 more a month.
Investing 1% more could mean having several tens of thousands more by the the time you turn 62:
Investing 1% more on a $35,000 income
Investing 1% more in your 20s
If you earn $35,000 and invest 1% more of your income—or about $29 a month—starting in your 20s, you could potentially have up to $100k, $200k, or even $300k more by the time you turn 62. Small changes absolutely matter, even on a low income:
Investing 1% more in your 30s
If you earn $35,000 a year and start investing 1% more in your 30s, you still have the potential to impact your financial future. Making this small change means that you could potentially have tens of thousands more by the time you retire—or even almost $100k more:
Investing 1% more on a $40,000 income
Investing 1% more in your 20s
If you make $40k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $33 a month—starting in your 20s, you could have $100k, $200k, or even $300k more by the time you turn 62. Small changes absolutely have the power to create a much better financial future, even if you earn a lower income.
Investing 1% more in your 30s
If you make $40k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $33 a month—starting in your 30s, you could potentially have $50k, $75k, or even $100k more by the time you turn 62:
Investing 1% more on a $45,000 income
Investing 1% more in your 20s
If you make $45k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $37 a month—starting in your 20s, you could have over $100k, $200k, $300k, or almost $400k more by the time you reach age 62. That 1% change could make an incredible impact on your financial future.
Investing 1% more in your 30s
If you make $45k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $33 a month—starting in your 30s, you could have over $50k, $75k, $100k, or even $125k more by the time you turn 62:
Investing 1% more on a $50,000 income
Investing 1% more in your 20s
If you make $50k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $41 a month—starting in your 20s, you could have $100k, $200k, $300k, or even over $400k more by the time you turn 62. That 1% change has the potential to build substantial wealth over decades:
Investing 1% more in your 30s
If you make $50k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $41 a month—starting in your 30s, you could still make a sizeable impact on your financial future. Making a 1% change now could translate to having tens of thousands more—or even well over an extra $100k—by the time you turn 62:
Investing 1% more on a $55,000 income
Investing 1% more in your 20s
If you make $55k a year and you invest 1% more of your income—or about $45 a month—starting in your 20s, you could make a massive difference to your financial future. This small change could add an extra $100k, $250k, $300k, $400k, or almost half a million more to your net worth by the time you turn 62:
Investing 1% more starting in your 30s
If you invest 1% more of your income starting in your 30s and you make $55,000 a year, that small change could mean adding $75k, $100k, $125k, or even $150k to your net worth by the time you turn 62:
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress.
It’s so easy to think that investing small amounts isn’t worth it, but the reality is that small changes compound significantly over a long period of time. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress!
If you can’t invest 15%, 20%, or 25% of your income, you probably can at least invest just 1% more, and that 1% difference could add up to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands more over decades—even if you earn a low income. If you earn $30,000 to $55,000 and are on a tight budget, investing 1% more of your income starting in your 20s or 30s could significantly add to your net worth by the time you turn 62, so this change absolutely could be worth it in the long run.
1 thought on “The Power of Investing 1% More”
Comments are closed.