5 Years vs 10 Years: The True Cost of Starting Late

"I'll start investing next year." That single sentence could cost you ₹50 lakh or more. Here's the math that shows why every year of delay has a massive price tag.

The Shocking Cost of 5-Year Delay

Same ₹10,000 Monthly SIP, Different Start Ages

Start Age	Investment Period	Total Invested	Corpus at 60 (12%)	Lost
25	35 years	₹42 lakh	₹5.46 crore	—
30	30 years	₹36 lakh	₹2.96 crore	₹2.50 crore
35	25 years	₹30 lakh	₹1.59 crore	₹3.87 crore

Starting 5 years late costs ₹2.50 crore. Starting 10 years late costs ₹3.87 crore.

See your personal cost: Use our Cost of Delay Calculator.

Why Delay is So Expensive

The Compounding Math

In the final years, your money grows exponentially. Missing early years means missing the foundation.

Year	Corpus Growth	How Much Came From
Year 1-10	₹23 lakh	Mostly your contributions
Year 11-20	₹70 lakh	50% contributions, 50% returns
Year 21-30	₹1.62 crore	70% returns on returns
Year 31-35	₹2.91 crore	85% returns on returns

The last 5 years add more than the first 20 years combined.

What You Must Invest to Catch Up

To Reach ₹1 Crore by Age 50

Start Age	Years to Invest	Monthly SIP Needed	Total Invested
25	25 years	₹5,000	₹15 lakh
30	20 years	₹10,000	₹24 lakh
35	15 years	₹20,000	₹36 lakh
40	10 years	₹45,000	₹54 lakh

5-year delay doubles your required SIP. 15-year delay means 9× the monthly investment.

Real-Life Scenarios

Scenario 1: Priya vs Rahul

Detail	Priya (Early Starter)	Rahul (5-Year Delay)
Start age	25	30
Monthly SIP	₹10,000	₹10,000
Investment years	25 (till age 50)	20 (till age 50)
Total invested	₹30 lakh	₹24 lakh
Corpus at 50 @ 12%	₹1.59 crore	₹98 lakh
Difference		₹61 lakh less

Priya invested only ₹6 lakh more but ended up with ₹61 lakh extra.

Scenario 2: Catch-Up Investment Required

Rahul wants to match Priya's ₹1.59 crore by age 50. How much must he invest?

Target	₹1.59 crore
Years available	20
Required monthly SIP	₹16,300
Extra monthly cost	₹6,300
Total extra invested	₹15.12 lakh

Rahul must invest ₹15 lakh extra just to match Priya's result.

Delay Cost by Goal

Child's Higher Education (₹50 Lakh Goal)

Child's Age Now	Years to Goal	Monthly SIP	If You Delay 2 Years
Newborn	18 years	₹8,500	₹10,500 (+24%)
5 years	13 years	₹14,500	₹19,000 (+31%)
10 years	8 years	₹33,000	₹48,000 (+45%)

Retirement Corpus (₹3 Crore Goal)

Current Age	Years to 60	Monthly SIP	If You Delay 5 Years
25	35 years	₹5,500	₹10,200 (+85%)
30	30 years	₹10,200	₹19,000 (+86%)
35	25 years	₹19,000	₹36,500 (+92%)
40	20 years	₹36,500	₹74,000 (+103%)

5-year delay nearly doubles your required investment at every age.

The Monthly Cost of Procrastination

For a ₹1 crore goal at retirement (age 60):

Start Age	Monthly SIP	Delay Cost Per Month
25	₹1,800	—
26	₹2,100	+₹300
27	₹2,400	+₹600
28	₹2,800	+₹1,000
29	₹3,200	+₹1,400
30	₹3,700	+₹1,900

Every year you wait costs you ₹300-500 more per month for the rest of your investment life.

Why "I'll Invest When I Earn More" Fails

The Lifestyle Inflation Trap

Age	Salary	"Free" Amount	What Actually Happens
25	₹50,000	₹10,000	Could invest, but "later"
30	₹1,00,000	₹20,000	EMIs, lifestyle upgrades
35	₹1,50,000	₹30,000	Kids, school fees, bigger house
40	₹2,00,000	₹40,000	"Now I really can't spare it"

The "right time" never comes. Start with whatever you can today.

Starting Small vs Waiting for More

Approach	Monthly Amount	Years	Corpus at 50
Start at 25 with ₹3,000	₹3,000 × 25 years	25	₹47 lakh
Wait till 30 with ₹10,000	₹10,000 × 20 years	20	₹98 lakh
Start at 25 with ₹3,000, increase to ₹10,000 at 30	Mixed	25	₹1.46 crore

Best approach: Start immediately with whatever amount, then increase later.

The Power of Even ₹1,000

"I can only afford ₹1,000/month"

Start Age	Monthly	Period	Total Invested	Corpus at 60
25	₹1,000	35 years	₹4.2 lakh	₹54 lakh
30	₹1,000	30 years	₹3.6 lakh	₹30 lakh

Even ₹1,000 started at 25 becomes ₹54 lakh. The same at 30 becomes only ₹30 lakh.

₹1,000 today is worth more than ₹2,000 five years from now.

Calculator: Your Personal Delay Cost

Use our Cost of Delay Calculator to see:

Input	What It Shows
Your current SIP amount	How much corpus you'd build
Delay period (years)	Reduced corpus due to delay
Extra monthly required	SIP to match original goal
Total cost of delay	In rupees and percentages

How to Start Today

If You Have ₹0 Invested

This Week	Action
Day 1	Open demat + mutual fund account (Zerodha, Groww, etc.)
Day 2	Set up ₹500-1,000 SIP in Nifty 50 index fund
Day 7	Set reminder to increase SIP with each salary hike

If You've Been Delaying

Situation	Action
Have some savings	Lumpsum into equity + start SIP
No savings	Start with minimum SIP (even ₹100)
High expenses	Cut one unnecessary expense, redirect to SIP

The 1% Salary Rule

Whenever salary increases, increase SIP by at least 1% of the increment:

Salary Hike	Minimum SIP Increase
₹5,000/month	₹500/month SIP increase
₹10,000/month	₹1,000/month SIP increase
₹20,000/month	₹2,000/month SIP increase

Key Takeaways

Lesson	Numbers
5-year delay	Nearly doubles required SIP
10-year delay	Triples required SIP
₹10K SIP: 25 vs 35 start	₹5.46 Cr vs ₹1.59 Cr difference
Best time to start	Yesterday. Second best: Today
Minimum to start	₹500/month is enough

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See your cost of delay: Use our Cost of Delay Calculator to find exactly how much each year of waiting costs you.