Say hello to Ravi and Suraj — two childhood friends who once split Maggi fifty-fifty and now split opinions on money. Ravi was the quiet, systematic guy who believed in investing early. Suraj? Let’s just say his idea of a financial plan was Netflix, chill, and maybe SIP later.

At age 22, Ravi got his first job and, without overthinking, started a SIP of 2,000 per month in a mutual fund. He didn’t have a fancy portfolio or stock tips from Twitter — just a habit and a goal. He invested this small amount every month for 10 years and then stopped. Yes, Ravi stopped investing at 32 after putting in just 2.4 lakhs. But the game-changer? He let that money sit and compound at a 12 percent annual return until he turned 60.

Now meet Suraj — our late bloomer. At 32, after hearing Ravi casually mention mutual fund returns over chai, Suraj panicked and got serious. He started investing 4,000 per month — double what Ravi did — and continued for a solid 28 years till age 60. His total investment? A big 13.4 lakhs.

But when they both hit 60, and it was time to compare results, Suraj’s jaw dropped. Ravi, who invested less money and stopped early, had a final corpus of 58.9 lakhs. Suraj, despite investing more money for nearly three times the duration, ended up with just 54.9 lakhs.

What happened? Time happened. Ravi gave his money 38 years to grow, while Suraj gave it only 28. This is the power of compounding and why starting early in investing is far more important than how much you invest. The magic of early SIPs in India lies in letting your money do the hard work while you do… well, nothing.

This isn’t just a funny story about two friends. It’s a real financial lesson. You don’t need to be rich to start — even a small SIP at age 22 can do wonders by retirement. So stop waiting for that perfect job, promotion, or salary jump. The best day to invest was yesterday. The second best is today. Be like Ravi — let time be your best investor