Mary and Terry

This illustration punctuates the time power of money.

• Mary and Terry are twins.

• Mary begins saving $100 per month on the day they both turn 21 years old. She puts it into an account with a 10% return.

• Nine years later, on their 30th birthday, Mary stops saving and never adds another penny to her investments.

• Terry doesn't start saving until their 30th birthday. His first $100 into savings begins the month after Mary's last savings deposit.

• Everything else is identical, most notably the 10% rate of returns, their ages, and the $100 savings amount.

If we look at their 65th birthday, Mary - who hasn't saved a penny the past 35 years - has a balance that is $117,371 more than Terry! Even though Terry has been rigorously savings most of his life, his account balance never catches up with Mary's.