That's exactly what index funds are for: just dump what you can spare into it every pay period and don't even look at the statement. When you get to, say, mid

That's exactly what index funds are for: just dump what you can spare into it every pay period and don't even look at the statement. When you get to, say, mid 50's, have a look to see if you can retire. My advise, when you're ready to give a little thought to this is to check out this site: [1]. EDIT: After you pick out some indexes (at you're age I'd probably just do SP500 exclusively), you can use this [2] to see what that could look like over a given time frame. Normal disclaimers apply: past performance does not gaurentee future success, etc. but it can give you a good idea of what will probably happen. I'd advise picking a date before the financial crisis so you can see how little these "end of the world" events actually matter over 30+ year horizons. [1] https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Lazy_portfolios https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Lazy_portfolios [2] https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio