r/Investing | Reddit🔝To all the youngsters: I (57M) was once where you are. Slow and steady wins the race.Forget crypto, options, stock picking and other exotic strategies. Dollar-cost averaging into low cost mutual funds for 31 years has resulted in a nest egg I never imagined. I had saved about $10,000 a couple years after I graduated college. My first job paid $16/hour (both in 2024 dollars). I read the Wall Street Journal Guide to Personal Finance and began saving and a small portion of my paycheck (10%) in mutual funds. The formula has remained the same. From that initial $10K we're now sitting on a $3.3M nest egg. All 4 kids had their education paid for (state schools) and are adulting with no debt. I remember thinking years ago, when I was in my 20s and my account balance was $60K, that "I hope these 8-10% annual growth projections come true" and they have in spades. The market was roaring in the 1990s and like today plenty predicted future doom and gloom. As I've gotten older, my salary has increased as well as my savings rate (about 40% over the last 7-8 years). Of course none of this would have been possible without the giant market gains of the last few years. But that's why you DCA and don't get swept up in the news of the day. There's simply no substitute for time in the market, and lost time can't be recouped. Save whatever you can and take a long view and things worked out for me in the end, just like I read 30+ years ago.