I Wish I Had Invested More A Hard Truth Young Soldiers Need to Hear About Building Wealth Early

Let’s skip the sugarcoating.

If you’re a young soldier, just getting your career going, this might be the most important financial advice you hear this year:

I wish I had invested more and started earlier.

I did a lot of things right. I invested smartly. I diversified. I built a solid portfolio with land, stocks, ETFs, and indexed strategies. I made my money work. I wasn't careless with my financial future. But even with all of that, there’s one truth I can’t deny: Starting earlier would have made all the difference.

The Secret Weapon You Already Have: Time

You don’t need to make six figures to build real wealth. You just need time and to use it wisely. The earlier you start, the more your money grows. That’s not a motivational quote it’s math.

Let’s look at the numbers:

- Start investing $200/month at age 20 with a 7% return: You’ll have about $104,000 by age 40.
- Start the same $200/month at age 30? Only about $34,000 by 40.¹

That’s $70,000 left on the table because of a 10-year delay.

According to the Rule of 7, money doubles every 10 years at a 7% return.²

So that $10,000 you invested at 20?
- $20,000 at 30
- $40,000 at 40
- $80,000 at 50
- $160,000 at 60

No fancy tricks just starting early and staying consistent.

💸 What I Did Right (and What You Can Do Even Better)

I wasn’t reckless with my finances. I didn’t spend every dime. I bought assets. I invested in my future. I diversified across land, the markets, and protected-growth vehicles. But like a lot of soldiers, I also bought into the “look good, feel good” lifestyle cars, gear, nights out. If I had shifted even a portion of that into real financial vehicles earlier, the returns would’ve been game changing.

Small decisions, compounded over time, that make or break your future.

✅ What You Need to Know Right Now

🔐 Start Life Insurance Outside of SGLI

SGLI is solid while you’re in uniform. But the second you’re out it’s gone. I should’ve locked in private coverage while I was young and healthy. It’s cheaper, permanent, and follows you no matter what happens with your service or health.

Want to play it smarter? Look at Indexed Universal Life (IUL) a life insurance policy that builds tax-free retirement income you can access later in life.

💼 Diversify or Get Left Behind

One of the most important financial lessons I’ve learned? Don’t rely on just one type of investment. Diversification is what gives your money flexibility and strength.

Here’s what I wish I’d built out much earlier:

📊 Index funds – These track major markets like the S&P 500, offering broad exposure and steady, long-term growth
📉 Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – Like index funds, but more flexible; can be traded like stocks, often with low fees and high diversification
🏡 Land or property – Real, tangible assets that grow in value and give you leverage
🛡️ Indexed strategies – Such as IULs or annuities, offering growth potential with downside protection

I can’t overstate this: If I had consistently contributed to all of these from the jump, I’d be far ahead. Even a simple ETF portfolio can change the trajectory of your finances.²
Soldiers, your money needs to work as hard as you do.

📈 Build Your Life with the 5 Buckets Principle

Another thing I wish I had learned early: success isn't just about saving money or getting promoted.

It’s about consistently investing in these 5 buckets:

- 🧐 Knowledge — Read, learn, and think beyond your MOS. Expand your mind.
- 🛠️ Skills — Get certified. Train in areas that add civilian value.
- 👥 Network — Build solid relationships in and out of uniform.
- 💼 Resources — Save, invest, build assets, eliminate liabilities.
- ⭐ Reputation — Guard your name. Everything you do matters.

Balanced soldiers aren't just career soldiers. They're unstoppable.

🪖 The Mission After the Mission

Let’s not pretend every soldier gets out with a pension and perfect finances. Most don’t. Some get hurt. Some ETS with no clear plan. Some go 20 and still feel behind. The sooner you take ownership of your future, the sooner you gain options. Whether you’re 19 and fresh out of AIT or 35 with three deployments under your belt today is the best day to start.

🍽️ Final Thoughts

The truth is, no one’s coming to build your future for you. Not the Army. Not the VA. Not your chain of command. It’s on you. Every smart move you make today every dollar invested, every skill sharpened, every connection built is future ammo. Ammo you’ll need when the uniform comes off and it’s just you and your decisions.

Start now. Start small if you have to. But start. Because years from now, you’ll either be grateful you did or wish you had.

Book an appointment with me, and let’s talk about how to get you set up with the right protection and growth strategies.

Footnotes:

¹ Based on compound interest calculations using $200/month contributions, compounded monthly, at a 7% annual return. The S&P 500 has historically returned an average of 7% annually after inflation.
Jeremy Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2022), 23–27.
Robert R. Johnson and Paul D. Kaplan, “The Long-Term Returns on the Original S&P 500 Companies,” Journal of Investing 29, no. 3 (2020): 25–33.

² Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) typically provide exposure to broad market indexes like the S&P 500. Over the past 50 years, the S&P 500 has delivered annualized returns of approximately 10% before inflation and about 7% after inflation. Diversified ETFs offer passive, long-term growth with low expense ratios, making them a strong foundation for young investors.
See: John C. Bogle, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, 10th ed. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2017), 34–41.