Guides / The Cost of Delaying Your SIP by 1, 3 or 5 Years
The Cost of Delaying Your SIP by 1, 3 or 5 Years
3 Oct 2026"I will start next year" is one of the most expensive sentences in investing.
₹10,000 a month for 20 years at 12%
| If you start | Estimated corpus | Cost of waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Today | ₹99.9 lakh | None |
| After 1 year | ₹87.5 lakh | ₹12.4 lakh |
| After 3 years | ₹66.8 lakh | ₹33.1 lakh |
| After 5 years | ₹50.5 lakh | ₹49.5 lakh |
Waiting 5 years cuts the final corpus by about half, even though you stop investing for only 5 of the 20 years. The reason is that the early years get the most time to compound.
Try your own delay in the SIP Delay Cost Calculator.
What if you have already waited?
- Increase the amount. Use the Step-up SIP Calculator to raise your SIP every year.
- Add lump sums from bonuses or maturity money.
- Invest for longer, if you can.
- Start small today. Even ₹2,000 a month beats waiting for a perfect amount.
These figures use a 12% assumption, which is not guaranteed. At lower returns the gap is smaller, but the lesson holds. Read more in Start Early.
Try the SIP Delay Cost Calculator