Is It Too Late for a 35-Year-Old Salary Earner to Start Investing? /By Longtunman
“I’m 35 now. Is it too late to start thinking about investing?”
I believe this is a question many middle-aged salary earners are currently searching for an answer to.
Watching others build and grow their investment portfolios often makes those who have never considered investing turn back to look at themselves.
Looking back, if we graduated at age 22, it means 13 years have already passed.
Looking forward, if we intend to retire at age 60, it means we have 25 years left.
Many might start questioning themselves: if we start investing now, is it still in time?
In this article, Longtunman invites you to think through the answer to this question together.
What is our investment goal?
At this stage, if you can’t think of one, the simplest goal is "money for retirement."
Think about it: if we retire at 60 and expect to live until 90, we will need to support ourselves for 30 years of retirement.
Suppose we want to have 30,000 Baht to spend every month during retirement.
If we use a regular savings method, we would need to have 10.8 million Baht in hand on the day we retire.
This means that starting at age 35, we would need to save 36,000 Baht every single month for 25 consecutive years—which is quite a heavy burden for most salary earners.
At this point, many might feel hopeless.
Saving 36,000 Baht a month at age 35 is difficult; even if one has a relatively high salary, expenses usually grow right along with it.
However, what if we change our method to investing in stocks or funds that can provide a 5% annual dividend yield?
Based on our goal, if we want a dividend income of 30,000 Baht per month (or 360,000 Baht per year):
Calculating backward, to receive this amount of dividends at age 60, we would need a principal sum of 7.2 million Baht.
Suddenly, the goal drops from 10.8 million Baht to 7.2 million Baht. This means at age 35, we would need to save/invest 24,000 Baht every month until retirement.
Now, some might start to see a glimmer of hope.
Especially if we invest consistently for 25 years with an appropriate return, this goal might not be as far away as it seems.
How should we start investing?
If you have ever followed Dr. Niwes Hemvachiravarakorn, Thailand’s legendary value investor, you might have heard of the "Three Jewels" of investment.
These consist of Principal, Time, and Returns. These three elements determine the final outcome of any investment.
For a 35-year-old, the "Time" that has passed is something we can no longer control. But certainly, we should not let the remaining time go to waste.
Meanwhile, Principal and Returns are things we can still somewhat manage.
For a 35-year-old worker, while there is a disadvantage regarding time, there might be an advantage in "Principal" due to a salary base that has increased with years of experience.
Naturally, the higher the principal you start with, the larger the portfolio value will be on your retirement day.
Now, let’s talk about Returns.
It must be said that investment returns depend on many factors.
In the investment world, there are many assets to choose from, such as stocks, bonds, gold, mutual funds, or even Cryptocurrency.
Each asset carries different returns and risks.
The point is, we must understand the assets we invest in as best as we can. For example, if we invest in stocks, we must understand that a stock represents a company. Stocks that provide good returns usually stem from the strong performance of that company.
Once we see the key components of investing, let’s look at the numbers.
Suppose we earn a salary of 40,000 Baht. We choose to set aside 6,000 Baht (about 15% of the salary) to invest every month for 25 years.
If the assets we invest in can generate an average compounded return of 10% per year:
By the day we retire, our investment portfolio would be worth 7.9 million Baht. This comes from 1.8 million Baht in principal, while the other 6.1 million Baht is profit generated by what is known as "Compound Interest."
Compared to our goal of needing 7.2 million Baht at retirement, we can see that investing helps make our dream a reality.
Returning to the first question: Is it too late for a 35-year-old salary earner to start thinking about investing?
The answer is... it is still in time.
However, it depends on how well our principal and returns work together during the remaining time.
Ultimately, investing has no fixed formula or "get-rich-quick" recipe.
The 10% annual return mentioned is just one example of what is possible, even when starting with a small amount at age 35.
In reality, you might achieve more or less than this, or you may adjust your principal as appropriate.
For instance, if your average return is 8% per year, you would need to increase your monthly investment to reach the goal. Specifically, you’d need to invest 7,570 Baht per month to give your portfolio a chance to reach 7.2 million Baht by retirement.
Furthermore, in the real world, there are other costs like inflation and taxes that will eat into your returns.
The most important thing is having investment discipline and financial management—things we can control—to help us achieve the goals we have set.
Note: This article is presented as a guideline and perspective only. The reader is the sole decision-maker regarding investment risks and returns. Please always study information carefully and consider the involved risks yourself.