If you don't invest one penny of your paycheck - and spend it all every week for the next 40 years - you will have gotten to have fun spending over a million dollars by the time you die!


Whoopee!


I don't see why all these financial-planning gurus expect us to get so excited about the opposite.


Plus, wouldn't some people save even at a negative interest rate? Expected returns are certainly relevant to the amount you spend now versus defer, but as long as your expected returns are greater than -100%, it seems logical you might defer some, if you anticipate an income-free period.


More specifically, the stock market will generally rise to the point where you won't "gain" by investing one marginal penny more or less. Meaning, if people are willing to defer at a negative-10% anuual cost, stocks will rise to be 10% higher than discounted earnings.


Usually, when the first person defers the first marginal penny, he can expect 400% a year. By the time the last penny of the last person has been deferred, he can expect -100%.


eLROY