This is a common sentiment I hear when talking about the slow and steady path to building wealth. “But a million dollars won’t even be a lot in 30 years”.

To be fair, there’s certainly some truth to this. If history is any guide, inflation will continue to slowly erode the value of the dollar. You can buy a lot more stuff with a million bucks today then you will be able to in 30 years. Economists generally agree a small amount of inflation is a good thing for an economy. A little inflation encourages us to use our money sooner while it’s worth more, thus stimulating economic growth.

But, as a 43 year old who spends a lot of time talking about this stuff, here’s a few things you should know:

• 30 years can go by pretty quickly
• You’ll still feel young in 30 years
• A million dollars will absolutely be a lot of money in 30 years.

Over the last 110 years, inflation has averaged about 3% per year. If that continues for the next 30 years, a million dollars will by then about as much stuff as $400,000 does today.

Do you think $400,000 is a lot of money? How about $40,000? How about $4,000? It’s a lot.

So if you’re thinking “A million dollars won’t be a lot in 30 years”, you’re wrong. But even so, what’s your plan? To have LESS than that? If anything, that should embolden us to save and invest even more.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Jeremy