Why Start Investing?

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src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/01175748/hero-why-start-investing.jpg" alt="Why start Investing graphic" class="img-fluid d-block mx-auto " /> </div> </div> </div> </section>  <section class="article-title"> <div class="container"> <div class="row "> <div class="col-12 "> <h1 class="text-center"> Why Start Investing? </h1> </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="article"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12 col-lg-9"> <div class="article-lead module"> <h3> If you’ve got money, you can make it work for you. Here’s the best part: you don’t need a lot to start, and getting an early start can make a massive difference. </h3> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Investing can give you financial freedom. </h3> <p>Investing can have a big positive impact on your quality of life.</p> <p>When you invest, you buy things like stocks, bonds and real estate with the expectation that when you sell them, they’ll be worth more than you paid for them.</p> <p>Investing is a way to put your money to work for you, even while you’re off doing something else.</p> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Invest and reap the rewards. </h3> <p>The key to building financial well-being through investing is to start as early as practical and stick with it. Another important factor is choosing investments that fit your needs.</p> <p>Think about your big picture goals: Maybe you want to start your own business, travel the world or retire early. Investing can help you achieve those goals!</p> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Financial independence means living your best life. </h3> <p>Investing can bring many benefits. First, it can help ensure that you don’t run out of money, particularly in your retirement years after you stop receiving income from your job.</p> <p>Many studies conclude that Social Security retirement benefits won’t be enough to maintain a person’s standard of living in retirement. A separate retirement account can make up most—if not all—of any shortfall.</p> <p>Investing can help you amass enough wealth to enable you to live off the money in your accounts. Think of it. No more job, unless you want it. No more wondering if you’ll have enough money to pay your bills at the end of the month.</p> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Elements of Investing </h3> </div> <div class="module headline-image"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12"> <h3 class=" text-left mb-2"> </h3> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/04183043/graphic-why-invest-word-cloud.png" alt="Elements of investing word cloud" class="img-fluid d-block mx-auto " /> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Meet the 8th Wonder of the World: Compounding Interest </h3> <p>The miracle of compounding interest allows even a small account to grow into a large pile of cash in time to make a big difference in how you live your life.</p> <p>Compounding interest is simple but powerful: With 10% interest, $100 grows to $110 the first year. In the second year, assuming you don’t take money from your account and you continue to earn 10% interest, that $110 grows to $121.</p> <p>Each year you earn interest on the new, usually higher balance. Since most years the stock market goes up, that means you’ll be earning interest on a higher balance. If you start with $100, after 10 years earning an average annual 10%, your account will grow to $259—more than doubling. Start with $10,000 and you’d end with $25,937.</p> </div> <div class="module vid-embed"> <h3 class=""> The Miracle of Compounding </h3> <div class="video-container"> <p><iframe loading="lazy" title=" The Miracle of Compounding" src="https://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/iframe.html?guid=56DCAD0D-7D5A-4FD3-BD79-AB068B3EE45B" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> </div> </div>  <div class="module text-img-reverse"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 "> <h3 class="green"> How much would you have if you start investing? </h3> <p> Look at what would have happened if you had invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 stock market index 5, 10 and 20 years ago, counting backward from the beginning of 2024. When you’ve got time on your side, you don’t need to start with a lot for it to grow into a sizable nest egg. </p> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 order-lg-1"> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/01180053/graphic-invest-early-chart.png" alt="invest early graphic" class="img-fluid d-block mx-auto " /> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="module vid-embed"> <h3 class=""> How Much Should I Invest? </h3> <div class="video-container"> <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="How Much Should I Invest?" src="https://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/iframe.html?guid=2F2B17E2-C2E2-4D3A-9B97-4A84AD21A9A5" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> </div> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Inflation means your money is losing value when not invested. </h3> <p>Inflation is a general rise in prices and a drop in the purchasing power of money.</p> <p>For example, say the $100 you have in your bank account today can buy 20 cups of coffee. But next year $100 might be able to buy only 19 cups of coffee. That’s the effect inflation has on the prices of things you buy. The purchasing power of your money has dropped.</p> <p>Inflation is common, with rates varying over time. However, Inflation has been particularly high in the years following massive government fiscal stimulus during the COVID pandemic, which resulted in an 8% inflation rate in 2022, the highest rate since 1981.</p> <p>Inflation is now coming down, but it remains a cautionary tale: you never know what to expect.</p> </div>  <div class="module text-two-col"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12"> <h3 class="green"> Saving vs. Investing </h3> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12 col-lg-6"> <h4 class=""> Saving </h4> <p> <p>Savings go into bank accounts, CDs and money markets where you don’t earn a lot but there’s little chance the value of your account will fluctuate much.</p> <p>Savings are for rainy days, emergency spending and money you’ll need in the next one to five years.</p> <p>You need to count on savings being there in the near future.</p> </p> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-6"> <h4 class=""> Investing </h4> <p> <p>Investments should be made with money you don’t plan to spend for five or more years.</p> <p>Ideally, that money should go into a diversified portfolio of assets where you can earn a higher rate of return.</p> <p>While the stock market has historically fluctuated more than savings in the near-term, it has provided significantly higher returns than savings in the long run.</p> </p> </div> <div class="col-12 col-lg-6"> <p> <p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/buyside/personal-finance/banking/saving-vs-investing"target=_blank" class="berg-blue">Saving vs. investing: how do you decide</a><br /> Go here for more information on saving vs. investing from our friends at WSJ Buy Side.”</p> </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="module vid-embed"> <h3 class=""> What if I keep my money in a savings account instead of investing it? </h3> <div class="video-container"> <p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/v3/iframe.html?guid=66D20A67-314C-4A50-9CB6-DDEDB2475071&shareDomain=https://www.marketwatch.com" width="512" height="288" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> </div> </div> <div class="text-block module"> <h3 class="green"> Don't invest too little </h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A common money mistake is keeping too much money in savings and not enough in investments.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By doing so, you miss the opportunity of having your money work much harder for you over a long period of time.</span></p> </div>  <div class="keypoints lt-grey-bg p-3 p-lg-5 "> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12"> <h2 class="font-bold mb-4"> Key Points </h2> <ol>  <li> <div class="d-inline-block"> <h5 class="mt-0 font-bold"> </h5> <p class=""> The earlier you start investing, the faster you can grow your money and make it work for you. </p> </div> </li>   <li> <div class="d-inline-block"> <h5 class="mt-0 font-bold"> </h5> <p class=""> Inflation means your money is losing value when it’s not invested. </p> </div> </li>   <li> <div class="d-inline-block"> <h5 class="mt-0 font-bold"> </h5> <p class=""> Saving and investing are different. It’s important to do both, for money you may need in the near future (savings) and in the long term (investing). </p> </div> </li>  </ol> </div> </div> </div> </div>  </div>  <div class="col-12 col-lg-3 side-rail "> <div class="searchsmartmoney"> <div class="searchfield"> <input type="text" name="search" class="search-input-sm" placeholder="search..." > </div> <div class="searchlist"> <ul class="search-results-sm"></ul> </div> </div> <div class="sticky"> <p class="text-uppercase font-normal"> Topics </p> <ul class="side-nav list-unstyled">  <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/weekly-market-update" class="green">Weekly Market Update</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/why-should-you-care-about-financial-wellness/" class="green">Why Should You Care About Financial Wellness?</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/money-budgeting-and-taxes/" class="green">Money, Budgeting and Taxes</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/debit-credit-checking-and-savings/" class="green">Debit, Credit, Checking and Savings</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/credit-scores/" class="green">Credit Scores</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/types-of-investments/" class="green">Types of Investments</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/what-is-the-stock-market/" class="green">What is the Stock Market?</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/cars-buying-vs-leasing/" class="green">Cars: Buying vs. Leasing</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/how-to-pay-for-college/" class="green">How to Pay for College</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/housing-renting-and-buying/" class="green">Housing: Renting and Buying</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/retirement/" class="green">Retirement</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/types-of-insurance/" class="green">Types of Insurance</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/calculators/" class="green">Calculators</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/videos/" class="green">Videos</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/challenges/" class="green">Challenges</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/events/" class="green">Events</a> </li>   <li> <a href="https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/resources/" class="green">Resources</a> </li>   <li> <a href="mailto:smartmoney@dowjones.com" class="green">Contact Us: smartmoney@dowjones.com</a> </li>  </ul> </div> </div>  </div> </div> </section> <section class="bottom-nav-list"> <div class="container"> <div class="row mb-4"> <div class="col-12"> <h3 class="text-leftfont-light text-uppercase"> Explore </h3> </div> </div> <div class="row">  <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 "> <div class="media mb-4"> <div class="rounded-circle mr-3 p-3"> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/02144954/icon-calculator.png" alt="" class=" " /> </div> <div class="media-body"> <h4 class="font-light green"> <a href='https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/why-should-you-care-about-financial-wellness/' class='green'>Why Should You Care About Financial Wellness?</a> </h4> <p> Knowing the basics of money and finance can give you a big advantage. 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Here’s an introduction to how it works and the lingo you should know. </p> </div> </div> </div>   <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 "> <div class="media mb-4"> <div class="rounded-circle mr-3 p-3"> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/02145003/icon-stacked-money.png" alt="" class=" " /> </div> <div class="media-body"> <h4 class="font-light green"> <a href='https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/money-budgeting-and-taxes/' class='green'>Money, Budgeting and Taxes</a> </h4> <p> Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does give you more freedom to live the life you want. </p> </div> </div> </div>   <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 "> <div class="media mb-4"> <div class="rounded-circle mr-3 p-3"> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/02144955/icon-car.png" alt="" class=" " /> </div> <div class="media-body"> <h4 class="font-light green"> <a href='https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/cars-buying-vs-leasing/' class='green'>Cars: Buying vs. Leasing</a> </h4> <p> Here’s how to buy or lease a car and get around reliably without taking on too much debt. </p> </div> </div> </div>   <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 "> <div class="media mb-4"> <div class="rounded-circle mr-3 p-3"> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/02144956/icon-credit-cards.png" alt="" class=" " /> </div> <div class="media-body"> <h4 class="font-light green"> <a href='https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/debit-credit-checking-and-savings/' class='green'>Debit, Credit, Checking and Savings</a> </h4> <p> Here are the banking basics you’ll want to know, as well as tips for building credit and avoiding big debt. </p> </div> </div> </div>   <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 "> <div class="media mb-4"> <div class="rounded-circle mr-3 p-3"> <img src="https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2024/04/02144959/icon-graduation.png" alt="" class=" " /> </div> <div class="media-body"> <h4 class="font-light green"> <a href='https://www.dowjones.com/smartmoney/how-to-pay-for-college/' class='green'>How to Pay for College</a> </h4> <p> College costs are always on the rise. 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