Footloose and fancy free

Jason was a bit of a rager until he settled down at 35. He was out most nights of the week. He was always trying to get his best mate Ben to come out too. Ben usually joined him once a week, but he was always saying “sorry mate, I’ve spent my entertainment budget”.

Since they were 20, Ben had been saving around $2,000 a year, while Jason had been blowing all his money on living. By 35, Ben had accumulated $36,000 and calculated that by the time he reached 60, that amount, with the help of compound interest, would have grown to $67,000. And that was without the help of any more savings he might add to it!

Jason worked out that even if he saved $2,000 a year for 25 years he would only have the same amount as Ben had accumulated from his 15 years of saving. He realized how much better off he could have been if he had made some effort to save early.