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Cost Of Delay In Investing Calculator

Work out cost of delay in investing instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Cost Of Delay In Investing Calculator

Delaying costs far more than the contributions missed, because the earliest instalments are the ones with the longest time to compound. That gap between contributions skipped and corpus lost is the price of waiting.

Formula

Cost of delay

Difference between the annuity value over full months and over the shortened period

Worked example

With the default values below, Cost Of Delay In Investing Calculator returns Corpus Given Up By Delaying of $14,340,162.72. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Monthly Investmentminimum 0
20,000
Expected Annual Returnaccepts 0–100 %
11 %
Years Until The Goalaccepts 2–50
25
Years You Delay Startingaccepts 1–30
5

Results

Corpus Given Up By Delaying
$14,340,162.72
Corpus If You Start Now
$31,811,623.78
Corpus If You Delay
$17,471,461.07
Contributions Not Made
$1,200,000.00

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Cost of delay
  3. 3Corpus Given Up By Delaying= 14,340,162.72
  4. 4Corpus If You Start Now= 31,811,623.78
  5. 5Corpus If You Delay= 17,471,461.07
  6. 6Contributions Not Made= 1,200,000.00

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Figures are estimates for planning only. Prices, returns, inflation and personal circumstances all change. This is not financial or tax advice — speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Figures are estimates for planning only. Prices, returns, inflation and personal circumstances all change. This is not financial or tax advice — speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the loss larger than the contributions skipped?

Because the missed instalments would have compounded for the entire remaining term — the most valuable ones.

Can a delay be recovered by investing more later?

Only partially, and it usually requires a much larger monthly amount than the original plan.

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