Rs 2,000 SIP in your 20s can beat Rs 15,000 a month invested later? CA shares the biggest mistake young earners make

Starting early with investing is often talked about, but rarely taken seriously by young earners who assume they need a high salary or large savings to begin. A small monthly investment is usually pushed aside in favour of waiting for the “right time” or a bigger pay cheque. But according to Bengaluru-based CA Nitin Kaushik, that delay itself is what quietly destroys long-term wealth-building potential. His latest post focuses on how even a small SIP started early can outperform much larger investments made later.

Taking to X, CA Nitin Kaushik argued that waiting to accumulate a large amount before starting to invest is nothing more than a procrastination habit dressed up as financial planning. According to him, the real issue is not a lack of money but a lack of discipline in building consistent habits early.

Rs 2,000 monthly investment is now over Rs 15,000 later

He explained that even a modest Rs 2,000 monthly investment started in your early 20s can create a significant advantage over time due to compounding. In contrast, someone who begins investing Rs 15,000 a month a decade later may still end up with a smaller overall corpus because they lost valuable years of compounding growth.


Kaushik emphasised that the entry barrier to investing in Indian markets today is effectively zero. With digital platforms making SIPs and mutual funds accessible to almost anyone, he believes capital is no longer the excuse it once was.

Financial discipline

Instead, he pointed out that discipline is the real constraint. According to him, if someone cannot manage a small investment amount consistently today, they are unlikely to suddenly become financially disciplined when their income increases significantly in the future.

He also highlighted a behavioural concern tied to income growth. Kaushik suggested that individuals who are unable to control smaller amounts of money are often equally likely to spend larger windfalls, such as bonuses or salary hikes, without building long-term wealth.

In his view, investing is less about the size of the initial contribution and more about developing a system of consistency. Starting early, even with a small SIP, allows individuals to build both financial habits and time advantage, which together form the foundation of wealth creation.