You're probably sick of me telling you how time is the best friend you have when it comes to building wealth in the stock market. But it's true. Here are a few more examples that show the power of time in a portfolio:

	A 22-year-old who starts investing $50 per month will have nearly $319,000 when he or she turns 62 (assuming an average annual market return of 10 percent). If that 22-year-old waits 10 years before beginning an investment program, he or she will have to invest almost triple the amount (or approximately $140 per month) to achieve the same $319,000 result.
	Let's say that you want to fund the retirement program of a newborn grandchild. If you invest $4,000 around the day your grandchild is born-and never touch the investment again nor make another contribution-that $4,000 will grow to nearly $2 million by the time the grandchild turns 65 (assuming a 10 percent annual return).
	Let's look at the sale of Manhattan Island that took place in 1626. (I stole this example from The 7 Secrets of Financial Success, written by Jack Root and Douglas Mortensen and published by Irwin Professional Publishing.) In 1626, the Native Americans sold Manhattan Island for $24. Had the $24 been invested and earned an average annual rate of return of just 7.2 percent, that $24 would now be worth more than $3 trillion. (Of course, none of us has a 371-year investment horizon, but you get the point.)

Moral of the stories: If you are not in the investment game, there's never a bad time to start. And if you are in the game, stay in the game and invest regularly.