I opened my Roth IRA back in 2017, when I was 32, and today the balance is sitting at about $142,500. Over the years, I’ve contributed $63,000 of my own money, maxing out the allowable annual contributions without fail.

The cool part for me now is seeing that more than half of what’s in there is growth I never actually contributed.

I’ve got a handful of different investment accounts, but this Roth IRA is my favorite. Here’s what it taught me about starting early, staying boring, and letting time do the heavy lifting.

What I put in vs. what it’s worth today

IRAs come with annual contribution limits — which means there’s a maximum each year you can put in. When I first opened my Roth IRA in 2017, the limit was $5,500, so that’s exactly what I put in that year. For 2026, the standard limit is up to $7,500.

It was slow going at first. But I just kept putting in money year after year, increasing with the annual limit. Here’s the overview of what I’ve contributed in total vs. the current balance:

Total contributions (2017-2026): $63,000Current account value: ~$142,500Investment growth: ~$79,500

That extra $79,500 is money I never earned at a job or moved over from my checking account. It just grew because I bought shares, left them alone, and let time do the work.

If you’ve been meaning to open an IRA and start investing, it’s always better to start sooner rather than later. I keep mine at Fidelity, which was named the Best Stock Broker Overall for 2026 by my team. I love that there are no account fees, no commissions on trades, and easy access to the low-cost index funds I buy.

Starting earlier beats trying to invest more

If I’m being honest, my hopes were pretty low when I first opened the account. I didn’t have a whole lot of money to invest, but I just got started anyway.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that time can be more valuable than the actual amount you put in. My earliest contributions have had nearly a decade to grow, and the ones I add now are the least powerful dollars in the account.

The S&P 500 has delivered an average stock market return of just under 10% a year since 1928, according to Motley Fool research.

At that historical average, money roughly doubles about every seven years. So even if I never added another dollar, this account could grow to around $285,000 by my late 40s. By my mid-50s, it could be closer to $570,000.

I’m not banking on those exact numbers, and I have no clue what the future holds. But the snowball is already rolling, and every year I keep investing it picks up a little more speed.

The case for boring index funds

I don’t have the time or patience to pick individual stocks. So my whole investment strategy is built around index funds.

In fact, my entire Roth IRA is invested in a single Vanguard index fund, VTI. That one fund spreads my money across basically the whole U.S. stock market, so I’m not betting on any one company or sector.

What I like most is that there’s nothing to manage or worry about. Once my money goes in, the only thing I have to do is not touch it. I know the market will have ups and downs over the years (I’ve already ridden through some big ones the past decade). But I’m not pessimistic about the future in general, and I’ve got time on my side.

The best account I ever opened

If I could go back in time, the only thing I’d change is opening this account even sooner.

Everything else — the boring fund, the automatic contributions, the years of doing almost nothing — worked exactly like it should. My $63,000 turned into about $142,500, and it’s still growing while I write this.

The best time to start was years ago, and the second best time is today. Opening a traditional or Roth IRA is free, it takes about 10 minutes, and it’s the one money move I’d tell almost anyone to make first.

Compare the best IRA accounts for 2026 and start your own compounding story today.