Jack Bogle’s Advice for Anyone Who Started Saving Too Late

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Investing Share Share Close Mail Page URL https://money.com/jack-bogle-advice-saving-too-late/ Link copied! Jack Bogle's Advice for Anyone Who Started Saving Too Late By: Marc Guberti Marc Guberti Marc Guberti is a personal finance writer who hosts Breakthrough Success, a podcast where he teaches listeners how to grow their businesses and achieve personal transformations. Has also written: What Elon Musk Gets Right About Risk Inflation, Currency Risk and Diversification: Where Gold Does and Does Not Fit Should You Move Everything to Gold? A Decision Framework for Rational Investors Gold in Past Market Stress: What History Suggests — and What It Doesn’t Want to Sell Your Gold? Liquidity and Exit Planning With a Gold IRA See full bio Published: Mar 25, 2026 4 min read Money is not a client of any investment adviser featured on this page. The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Money does not offer advisory services.

Getty Images Jack Bogle not only founded Vanguard and launched the first index mutual fund for individual investors, but he also dished out plenty of advice for retirement savers. His tips can be especially helpful for people who are starting their financial journeys later than usual, and who are catching up on their savings so they can have their dream retirement. Here are four of his pieces of advice that may come in handy. Must ReadExperts are Bullish on Gold — Here's How to Get InGold Is Holding Steady as the Iran War Continues On — Here’s How Some Investors Are Getting Exposure 1. Keep fees low Luxurious vacations, front-row concert seats and other highly expensive purchases may have to go on the back burner as you improve your finances. But it’s important to save in your investment portfolio, too. Bogle was a fan of keeping costs low. A fund that charges a 1% fee may not seem too expensive, but that expense can compound dramatically over a decade and eat away at your savings over time. For instance, a 1% fee on $100,000 results in a fee of $1,000. Over 10 years, that’s $10,000 that could have gone to your retirement. Fortunately, there are many low-cost options. You can find plenty of index funds with fees lower than 0.1%. 2. Time in the market beats timing the market If you fantasize about making tons of money by timing the market, you’re not alone — especially with investors running to social media nowadays to share the extremes of euphoric gains and catastrophic losses. Bogle often asserted that time in the market beats timing the market. Investing in equities over many years can put you in a better position by the time you retire than simply buying and selling based on market moves. A 10-year window may be enough to reach at least some of your long-term financial goals if you invest in long-term assets and adopt prudent financial habits. While bonds are also good investments that can reduce risk, late bloomers should keep in mind that stocks have more long-term growth potential. A well-balanced and diversified portfolio for someone nearing retirement may include both stocks and bonds.

Where People Are Investing Right NowMotley Fool's monthly stock recommendations — get expert advice and portfolio strategies'The Higher the Balance, the More You'll Earn': Open a savings account with CIT Bank and get 3.75% APYCheck out SoFi's no commission investing platform 3. Avoid panic selling Late savers can’t go back in time and start investing in their 20s, but they have control over their current actions, which influence future outcomes. While it’s easy to buy and hold long-term assets when the stock market is rising, doing so can become more difficult when stock prices are dropping. But the famed investor was adamant about not panic selling during downturns. If you sell at lows, you lock in losses and limit your exposure to the stock market when it recovers. This lesson regularly repeats itself. For instance, investors who sold their equities in March 2020 during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and stayed out for a month missed most of the recovery that other investors benefited from later that year and had to watch it all unfold from the sidelines. 4. Focus on the long term, not speculative investing Bogle was an advocate for keeping investing simple. While it’s tempting to invest in popular, speculative assets like crypto and meme stocks, doing so requires taking on risk that may not offer you much reward. Instead, focus on investing in assets that have proven their ability to help investors reach their long-term goals, and stick to long-term thinking. Must ReadExperts are Bullish on Gold — Here's How to Get InGold Is Holding Steady as the Iran War Continues On — Here’s How Some Investors Are Getting Exposure