I am 35 and recently lump summed a windfall into the sp500. I will also keep DCAing although the numbers I put in monthly are far lower than the lump sum. I will not reach a total additional contribution close to the lump sum for at least a decade.
My goal is to reach $1M invested before 60. Which would be possible with a total real return of 7% over the next 20 years.
More conservatively, my goal is to reach financial indipendence and a nice passive income before the age of 60 so that I no longer have to rely on my job to get by.
I am also investing in bonds and doing all I can to diversify. I live in an EU country where inflation is lower than the US so that should also help.
And yet I am terrified.
Historically, there have been periods where even with a long term horizon, your investment would have had awful returns. One of them is 1965-1985, barely beating inflation. The 1980s and 1990s were nice while 1995-2015 was not great at all. Then 2005-2025 was great again, and 2015-2035 is looking to be nice ish depending on how the next decade will go.
So I am scared that 2025-2045 will be awful again.
I definitely cannot see 2005-2025 coming back any time soon. Just like 1975-1995 didn't come back for a long time.
I would be heartbroken if I did all I could and still with all my efforts at 60 I found myself having a net worth that barely beat inflation. While someone who started 10 years before me became a millionaire or multi millionaire.