Nicole Lapin

Add in the $22,000 you've invested plus the monthly growth.

And by the end of year four, you'll be at around $68,000.

And by the way, if you haven't already maxed out your employer match on your 401k, please do that now.

That is free money, which means this monthly contribution doesn't have to all be on you.

Okay, year five, we are investing $2,100 a month and $100k is in sight.

At $2,100 a month, you'll be investing over $24,000 in year five.

And as that compounds, your nest egg is snowballing to your advantage.

And ta-da!

If you add $24,000 from year five to your growing brokerage account, you will actually now have a little over $100,000.

Now, not everybody will be able to do this, and I completely understand that.

Surprises happen.

Sometimes the raise isn't possible.

Sometimes you're paycheck to paycheck.

If you can't commit to these monthly investments, look for opportunities to invest one-time chunks of money that you get from things like a windfall, an inheritance, a tax refund, or selling a bigger ticket item that you no longer use.

Or...

Give yourself more time.

This is just one aggressive investing schedule, but you can and should do what's best for you.

But when you do hit that 100K mark, and I know you will, this is the really fun part.

Once you get to 100K, compounding becomes noticeably faster.

Your money starts making more money than you do.