TIME ON YOUR SIDEA GUIDE TO STARTING

YOUR 30s. YOUR HEAD START.

Your greatest asset
is time.

You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You need a little money, a simple plan, and the years ahead of you.

See what starting today can do ↓

Starting at zero is a starting point.

THE LONG VIEW35 YEARS OF POSSIBILITY
$0

$500 a month. 35 years. A hypothetical 7% annual return.

YEAR 01TIME DOES THE HEAVY LIFTING ↗YEAR 35

Illustration, not a forecast. Returns vary and losses are possible.

SMALL STEPS. A LONG HORIZON.

Build the habit today. Give your future more choices.

Explore the guide ↓

01 / THE POWER OF STARTING

Same habit.
Very different futures.

Compounding means your returns can earn returns, too. For investments, that growth isn’t a fixed interest payment—it rises and falls with the market. Time gives it room to build.

All three finish on the same date. Starting balance $0; monthly deposits begin after the selected delay. Constant effective annual return, compounded monthly; deposits at month-end; dividends reinvested. Future dollars, before any withdrawal taxes; no employer match. Use a return after fees. This illustration does not apply account contribution limits.

01

Your deposits start it.

The part you control is the habit: a contribution each payday, even if it starts small.

02

Growth can build on growth.

Reinvesting keeps returns working. The curve can become steeper as the balance grows.

03

You don’t need a perfect moment.

Markets have bad years. Build a plan you can stick with, rather than trying to guess the next move.

02 / GIVE YOUR MONEY A HOME

Two accounts.
One future you.

A retirement account is a container with tax benefits. The investments inside it do the growing. You can use a 401(k) and a Roth IRA together—you don’t have to pick just one.

The 2026 limits are ceilings, not starting requirements. You can start with an amount your budget supports. IRA contributions also cannot exceed eligible taxable compensation (spousal IRA rules may help married couples). Employer contributions don’t use your $24,500 employee allowance; a separate 2026 combined 401(k) cap is generally the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of compensation, excluding catch-ups.

Limits reviewed September 26, 2026. They can change annually. These examples use under-50 limits; age-50+ catch-ups and special age-60–63 rules are not modeled. Verify the current IRS limits ↗

2026 Roth IRA eligibility: check your income

For direct Roth IRA contributions, the allowed amount phases out as modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) rises: $153,000–$168,000 for single/head-of-household filers and $242,000–$252,000 for married filing jointly. Below the lower threshold, the full limit may be available; at or above the upper one, direct contributions are not allowed.

Married filing separately and living with a spouse at any point in the year generally has a $0–$10,000 range. If you lived apart all year, different rules apply. MAGI isn’t always the same as salary. The calculators don’t determine your eligibility; confirm before contributing. IRS contribution and eligibility rules ↗

Roth or traditional? It’s about when you pay tax.

A simple IRA comparison. A workplace 401(k) may also offer both tax treatments.
The questionRoth IRATraditional IRA
Tax break today?No. Contributions use after-tax money.Possibly. A deduction depends on income and workplace plan coverage.
Taxes as investments grow?No annual tax on gains inside the account.No annual tax on gains inside the account.
Taxes in retirement?Qualified withdrawals are tax-free.Deductible contributions and earnings are generally taxed as ordinary income.
Often worth considering when…Your tax rate now is relatively low, or you value tax-free income later.A deduction is available and your tax rate now is higher than you expect later.
Main tradeoff?You give up a possible deduction now.You face future taxes and required minimum withdrawals.

Make the comparison fair.

With $100 of pre-tax earnings and a 22% tax rate, you could invest $100 in a deductible traditional account or $78 in a Roth. If both grow 10× and the withdrawal tax rate is still 22%, each leaves $780 to spend. Roth is not “extra growth”—its advantage depends on tax rates and circumstances.

You can keep both doors open.

A pre-tax workplace 401(k) plus a Roth IRA can give you a mix of taxable and tax-free retirement income. If you choose a traditional IRA, verify the deduction rather than assuming it. Nondeductible contributions require tracking to avoid taxing the same money twice.

IRS: contributions and deductions ↗

03 / PUT THE MONEY TO WORK

The account holds it.
The investments grow it.

Adding money to an IRA can leave it sitting in cash. Choose an investment, complete the purchase, and confirm that future deposits are invested, too.

An ETF is a basket you can buy.

An exchange-traded fund holds a collection of investments. Shares trade throughout the day, like a stock. Broad index ETFs can provide access to many companies without choosing each one yourself.

A mutual fund is a basket, too.

It typically trades once a day at its calculated share value. Some have minimum purchases. Many work well with automatic deposits, and they are common in 401(k) menus.

“Index” is the strategy; ETF or mutual fund is the format. An index fund follows a defined market benchmark. Both formats can be low-cost and diversified—or concentrated and expensive. Read what the fund actually owns.

01 / WHAT’S INSIDE?

Check the holdings.

Look for a clear role: U.S. stocks, international stocks, or bonds. Two funds may own many of the same companies.

02 / WHAT DOES IT COST?

Read the expense ratio.

0.05% costs about $5 per year per $10,000 held; 1% costs about $100. Also check account fees, trading costs, and sales charges.

03 / CAN YOU STICK WITH IT?

Understand the risk.

Stock funds can fall sharply. Diversification spreads risk but cannot prevent losses. Money needed soon belongs in a different plan.

04 / MAKE IT REPEATABLE.

Automate and review.

Check automatic dollar purchases, fractional shares, and minimums at your provider. Reinvest dividends and review your mix annually.

LEARNING FROM PROFESSOR G

A simple, three-part stock portfolio.

Watch Investing Simplified ↗

Professor G describes an approach built around a foundational stock fund, a growth fund, and a dividend/value fund. Here is what those roles mean. The funds below are research examples, not a personalized shopping list.

01 · The foundation

A broad U.S. stock fund spreads your investment across many businesses. VOO tracks the S&P 500; VTI covers a broader U.S. market. They overlap heavily, so owning both is not automatically more diversified.

02 · A growth tilt

A fund such as SCHG focuses on large U.S. growth companies. It can increase concentration in companies already in the foundation. “Growth” describes a style, not a promise of higher returns.

03 · Dividend / value

A dividend-focused fund such as SCHD emphasizes dividend-paying U.S. companies. Dividends can be reinvested, but aren’t free extra returns or guaranteed payments. Consider total return: price changes plus distributions.

Keep the tradeoffs in view. This is a stock-focused approach, not the traditional U.S. stocks + international stocks + bonds “three-fund portfolio.” It can overlap, remains exposed to market declines, and does not by itself provide broad international or bond diversification. No allocation is prescribed here, and past performance does not establish future outperformance. A 401(k) may offer different funds with similar roles.

Prefer one decision? Consider a low-cost target-date index fund.

Choose a date near your expected retirement, then compare fees and the investment mix. These funds typically combine stocks and bonds and become more conservative over time. They can be an all-in-one approach, but funds with the same year can have different risks—and none guarantees enough retirement income. SEC guide to target-date funds ↗

04 / MAKE THE NUMBERS YOURS

A small habit.
A future you can picture.

Start at $0. Adjust the contribution, return, and years. Explore each account separately; a 401(k) balance before withdrawal taxes isn’t directly comparable to spendable Roth money.

$

Try 4%, 7%, and 10%. These are scenarios, not expected or guaranteed returns.

2026 under-50 limits. No future limit increases or catch-ups assumed. Eligibility and limits must be checked each year.

Potential balance after 35 years

ROTH IRA

Projected account balance
Account balanceYour deposits

Your contributions

Employer match

Investment growth

Future dollars. Inflation will reduce what they can buy.

How this calculator works & what it leaves out

All projections start at $0. We convert the effective annual return to a monthly rate: (1 + annual return)1/12 − 1. Monthly deposits are added after each month’s growth. Returns are constant for illustration, with dividends reinvested. Use a return net of investment and account fees. Actual returns vary; losses and their timing matter.

Monthly contributions are capped using 2026 under-50 limits: $7,500/year for IRAs and $24,500/year for employee 401(k) deferrals. The 401(k) calculation also caps employee contributions at entered salary and combined employee/employer contributions at the lesser of $72,000 or salary. Salary and limits stay unchanged for the entire illustration. The Roth calculator assumes sufficient taxable compensation, full income eligibility, and no other IRA contributions. It cannot check your actual eligibility.

The optional buying-power view discounts the final balance and chart by 2.5% annual inflation. Contribution and growth totals remain nominal dollars and reconcile to the nominal balance shown below the result. No withdrawal taxes, penalties, changes in tax law, contribution increases, catch-ups, or retirement withdrawals are modeled. A Roth result is tax-free only if withdrawal requirements are met. The 401(k) result is before any withdrawal taxes, whether your plan uses pre-tax, Roth, or both.

05 / TURN UNDERSTANDING INTO ACTION

Your first move
can be small.

You don’t need to max out an account this week. Pick one useful step, take it, then make the next contribution easier.

01 / GET YOUR FOOTING

Protect the habit.

Keep bills current, make required debt payments, and build an accessible cash buffer. Look at expensive debt alongside investing: paying it down saves interest without market risk. Avoid investing money you’ll need soon.

02 / CHECK YOUR BENEFITS

Understand your match.

Ask HR about the 401(k), match formula, vesting, and fees. If your budget allows, contributing enough for the full match is often a strong first retirement step. Confirm the investments selected for your deposits.

03 / BUILD YOUR ROUTINE

Choose. Invest. Repeat.

Compare IRA providers and eligibility, then choose a simple investment approach. Automate an affordable amount. Consider increasing it when you get a raise, and review your contributions and fund mix once a year.

A 20-minute start

A checklist for this visit. Your selections are not saved.

Sources, assumptions & keeping this guide current
IRS · 2026 contribution limits and income rangesIRS · Combined IRA limits and compensationIRS · Employee and employer contributionsIRS Publication 590-A · Eligibility and deductionsIRS Publication 590-B · Roth withdrawal rulesIRS · Roth workplace accountsDepartment of Labor · Your retirement planSEC · Asset allocation and diversificationSEC · Fund fees and expensesSEC · Mutual funds and ETFsSEC · Target-date fundsInvesting Simplified · Professor G’s three-fund approach

Last reviewed September 26, 2026. U.S. federal rules; state treatment can differ. This is a maintained guide, not a live IRS data feed. Check the IRS before contributing for a new tax year. Income thresholds, limits, and tax rules can change. Fund examples are for learning; consult the provider’s current prospectus for holdings, risks, and fees.