The Most Important Retirement Table You'll Ever See

I'm sure a lot of people would agree that they're not rushing time (it's already moving too fast if you ask me), but they look forward to when they can retire and enjoy the fruits of years of work. Retirement is the perfect time to pursue lifelong dreams and embrace whatever aspects of life bring you fulfillment.

A key to maximizing your retirement is ensuring you're as financially prepared as possible. This looks different for different people, but the one common factor is that the earlier you start, the better. To give you perspective on the importance of starting early, take a look at the most important table you'll see in retirement.

Investment totals rounded down to the nearest hundred.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why this is the most important retirement table you'll ever see

This table shows what happens when you invest $500 monthly and average 10% annual returns over different periods. It isn't important because of the specific numbers inside it (those will vary based on investments and time); it's important because it highlights the power of compound earnings .

When it comes to investing, compound earnings happen when the returns you earn on investments begins to earn returns of their own. You can think about it like a snowball rolling down a hill and getting larger as it picks up more snow. In this case, the snow is money.

As an example, imagine you invest $1,000 and earn 10% in a year, giving you $1,100. If you earn another 10%, you'll receive $110 in interest. It's a cycle where the amount of interest you earn each year increases without any additional work.

Reaching retirement goals without compound earnings is hard

For most people to reach an amount they can live off of in retirement, strictly saving won't do the trick.

Imagine if your goal is to save $1 million . Even if you could put away $25,000 per year -- which isn't feasible for many considering the U.S. median income -- it would take 40 years to hit that mark. That's why investing and taking advantage of compound earnings are so important.

Compound earnings can take relatively small investments and multiply them over time. In our above table, notice how the gap between what you personally invest and your investment total widens with the more time you have. After 10 years, the gap is only around $35,600; after 20 years, it's over $240,000; after 30, it's a staggering $800,000.

While hitting the $1 million mark may be farfetched by strictly saving, it's fairly attainable as long as you give yourself time to take full advantage of compound earnings. Investing $1,000 monthly and averaging 10% annual returns over 25 years could get you over that mark.

Of course, you can't predict what returns you'll see receive, but the bigger point is the importance of time.

Be sure to use the resources you have access to

Retirement accounts are your best friends when saving and investing for retirement. It's a two-for-one: You're setting yourself up to be financially stress-free in retirement (or close to it), as well as getting a tax break while doing it.

The most common type is a 401(k) because it's offered through employers, but IRAs are also great options that you can open on your own.

Traditional IRAs are similar to 401(k)s because you get your tax break on the front end. You can possibly deduct your traditional IRA contributions , depending on your income, filing status, and whether you and your spouse have a work-sponsored retirement plan. Roth IRAs are unique because they give you your tax break in retirement. Contributions to an IRA are made with after-tax money, and then you take tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

Using retirement accounts ensures you can keep as much money to yourself as possible when saving for retirement. Every dollar counts.

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