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Opportunity Cost Calculator

See what a spending decision today could cost you at retirement — and whether it's worth it.

Try an example

Is it worth it? (optional)

Tell us what you'd get out of it and we'll compare that to what investing the money could do.

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The “4% rule” is a common guideline for how much of a nest egg you can spend each year.

Turns the cost into hours of work.

Spending $5,000 now could cost you

$81,557

at age 65, if you'd invested it instead — about $27,554 in today's dollars.

It grows

16.3×

over 40 years

In retirement

$92 a month

of income, in today's dollars

To beat investing the money, this has to be worth about $5,000 to you. Add how many years you'll enjoy it, and what that's worth to you, for a verdict.Money is for living, too. This just shows the trade-off.

What that money could grow into

If you invested it instead of spending it, at a steady 7% a year.

$100k$10k$1kAge 26: $5,361$5k26Age 30: $7,088$7k30Age 34: $9,371$9k34Age 38: $12,389$12k38Age 42: $16,379$16k42Age 46: $21,653$22k46Age 50: $28,627$29k50Age 54: $37,847$38k54Age 58: $50,035$50k58Age 62: $66,149$66k62Age 65: $81,557$82k65

What if you spend less?

VersionYou spendCosts at 65
As planned$5,000$81,557
50% of the cost$2,500$40,779
25% of the cost$1,250$20,389

An estimate, not financial advice. It assumes a steady return, that you'd really invest the money, and that recurring costs stay the same. Real markets go up and down, and the future is uncertain. The “worth it” comparison spreads a one-time cost over the years you'll use it, earning the same return you could have gotten by investing.