There are two pieces to a successful investment program.
The first piece, and the most obvious, is starting the program.
The second piece is maintaining the program by investing regularly.

While you could argue that starting an investment program is the most important, I maintain that it will be extremely difficult to be a successful investor unless you start and invest regularly. Why?

For starters, when you don't invest regularly, you're not keeping your money in play. Money that's not in the market doesn't reap the benefits of time and compounding. In fact, money that's not in the stock market is eventually money that's spent. And money that's spent creates a negative return.

Think about it. The stuff you buy usually costs you more than the initial price tag. Homes require insurance, maintenance, utilities, and furniture. Autos require gasoline, insurance, and maintenance. Clothing requires cleaning and mending, not to mention new clothes to go with the clothes you just bought. Computers require Internet connections, printers, toner cartridges, software, and computer paper. Stereo systems require speakers and compact discs.

If you spend instead of invest, you're not just losing returns on the money you spend. The money you spend generates a negative return because you spend more money to support the stuff you buy. That's why spending is so dangerous. It has a negative multiplier effect. Spending is really negative compounding.

If you invest every month, even if it is only a few bucks, you rid yourself of money that, if spent, will cost you even more money in the long run. That's why it pays to invest even a little amount each month -- $20, $50, $100, whatever you can afford. Don't wait until you save a larger amount to invest. This is a common mistake investors make. The problem with waiting until you accumulate funds is that the money is readily available and tempts you to spend it on some foolish toy. Get the money into the stock market as soon as possible. You'll be much better off in the long run.

Another big reason to invest regularly is that, without doing so, you'll never meet your financial goals. It's doubtful your initial investment will grow enough to reach seven figures. You need to put more money into the market over time. Run the numbers:

	Let's say you invest $10,000 and never make another contribution again. Over 20 years at 11 percent per year, that $10,000 grows to $80,623.
	Now, let's say you make that $10,000 investment and add just $50 per month. Instead of $80,623 at the end of 20 years, you'll have $133,029. What makes this example so powerful is that, in order to achieve an additional $52,406 ($133,029 minus $80,623), you had to invest only an additional $12,000 ($50 per month for 20 years).

Investing every month also lowers your investment risk. Diversification usually refers to investing in a variety of assets - stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. - in order to lower portfolio risk. You can also diversify across time. How? By spreading investments over a period of time. Investing every month is a form of time diversification. When you invest monthly, you limit your risks of buying at market peaks. You also assure yourself of periodically buying near market low points.

Since successful investing is about investing regularly, it's not surprising that most of the everyday millionaire investors I surveyed for my new book, Eight Steps to Seven Figures (Doubleday), invest on a regular basis. Indeed, among the everyday millionaire investors, well over half invest at least once a month. Another 28 percent invest at least quarterly (every three months).

Moral of the story: Invest something every month, regardless of the amount. Trust me - it will make a big difference over time.