Delaying Your SIP Can Cost You Dearly — Here's the Proof!
By Akhil Chugh
Date April 27, 2025
If you’re earning well and focused on securing your financial future, there’s one simple habit that can make or break your wealth journey:
Starting your SIP early.
On the surface, postponing your investment by a few months or years might not seem like a big deal.
But when you run the numbers, the cost of delay is staggering.
Let’s walk through why every year you wait is not just a pause—it’s a missed opportunity to add crores to your long-term wealth.
The Real Cost of SIP Delay
Consider this: You invest ₹25,000/month in a well-diversified mutual fund portfolio with an average 12% annual return.
Here’s how your wealth changes based on when you start:
As it’s clear from the above table:
- Start 5 years later, and you lose ₹7.4 Crores
- Start 10 years later, and your wealth drops by ₹11.5 Crores
- Start 15 years later, and your wealth drops by ₹13.7 Crores
That’s the magic of compounding. In the investment world, time is your biggest friend. Time creates money. The earlier you start, the bigger it is!
The “Time Multiplier” Effect:
The earlier you begin, the more time your money gets to grow—not just linearly, but exponentially.
In SIP investing, the first few years are like planting seeds.
The last few years? That’s when the tree bears the most fruit.
By delaying the start, you’re cutting off the most productive years of your investment.
Let’s understand it with the help of an example. If an investor’s retirement goal is to accumulate Rs 18 crore to lead a comfortable retirement life then he has to invest Rs 50,000 per month to reach his desired corpus in 30 years. To earn the same amount in 20 years, an investor has to invest a monthly SIP of Rs 1,80,000!
Assuming CAGR of 12% in equity mutual fund investments.
Strategic Investing Is About Time – Not Timing:
Many investors keep waiting for:
- The next market correction
- A better salary
- Perfect timing”
But the truth is: the earlier you start, the less you need to worry about timing.
Even if you begin in a volatile year, the long-term averaging and growth of SIPs work in your favor.
“Time in the market always beats timing the market.”
The Price of Procrastination – What 1 Year of Delay Really Costs?
Let’s say you plan to invest ₹30,000/month in a mutual fund SIP for 25 years assuming CAGR of 12%.
Start today → Corpus at age of 60yrs = ₹5.7 Crore
Start 1 year later → Corpus at age of 60yrs = ₹5.0 Crore
Loss = ₹70 Lakhs — for a 12-month delay
Now imagine delaying by 3–5 years!
Key Takeaways from Net Brokers:
- Initiate your wealth-building journey early for enhanced earnings. Grasp the fundamental investing principle: prioritizing “time in the market” over “timing the market.” Delaying your start limits the time available for your investments to compound, potentially hindering wealth creation.
- Postponing investment decisions can be expensive. If uncertainty lingers, refrain from lump sum commitments and opt for equity mutual funds through monthly Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). SIPs facilitate cost averaging, safeguarding against missed opportunities during favourable market conditions.
- The secret to being Wealthy is not always making big decisions but also making small decisions like not delaying your SIP and starting right now.
- Net Brokers emphasize the superiority of investing over holding funds in savings accounts. Relying on savings account returns to outpace widespread inflation is impractical. Instead, consider investing in instruments like mutual funds aligned with your risk profile and financial objectives, offering a higher likelihood of beating inflation.
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