JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone operator Vodacom Group will spend more than 9 billion rand ($589 million) this year on network enhancements particularly in rural areas in its home market, its Chief Technology Officer said on Thursday.



Vodacom, majority-owned by Britain’s Vodafone, invested 9.6 billion rand in 2018, Andries Delport said during a media briefing.



The investment will be spent on the firm’s rural coverage acceleration programme, replacing and modernising base stations and digital services.



Vodacom has grown its South African rural network coverage significantly over the past six years, covering over 16 million people with 4G/LTE services.



Its 3G network is now available to more than 97% of the South African population living in rural areas and 4G is available to 75%, Delport said.



“Despite the lack of available spectrum, Vodacom has made substantial progress in improving network coverage in both rural and deep rural areas of South Africa,” he said.



“With rural land making up 98.6% of the total land area in South Africa, Vodacom has prioritised connectivity in these regions, facilitating access to the digital resources which many of us take for granted in cities.”



Vodacom has been battling with vandalism and theft at its base stations, where as many as 500 towers out of the 14,000 have either been vandalised or had batteries stolen every month.



“This year alone the investment is about 250 million rand to 300 million that we’ll invest just in batteries,” said Delport.



($1 = 15.2734 rand)



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by David Holmes

South Africa’s Vodacom to invest more than $589 million on network enhancements, what you need to know

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Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had a conversation on investment and sustainable debt here on the continent. He joins CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera for more.

IMF’s Abebe Aemro Selassie on investment and sustainable debt management in Africa

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AXA Mansard has reported a 24.6 per cent rise in its half-year gross premium. The insurer has a string of independently run businesses in the health, pensions and investment space. To unpack the half-year numbers, Ngozi Ola-Israel, Chief Financial Officer of Axa Mansard joins CNBC Africa for more.

Axa Mansard CFO: How to look at the half-year results

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-popomaronis/">Tom Popomaronis</a>



If there’s one person who understands the importance of teaching kids about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/how-to-raise-money-smart-children-who-grow-up-to-be-successful-wealthy-financially-literate.html" class="">financial responsibility</a>, it’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/billionaire-warren-buffett-use-this-simple-test-when-making-tough-decisions.html" class="">Warren Buffett</a>.



Before he became CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the legendary investor started a handful of small businesses — starting at age six, when he purchased a six-pack of Coke for 25 cents and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/31/heres-how-warren-buffett-hustled-to-make-53000-as-a-teenager.html" class="">sold each can for a nickel</a>. He also sold&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/31/heres-how-warren-buffett-hustled-to-make-53000-as-a-teenager.html" class="">magazines and gum</a>&nbsp;from door to door.



“My dad was my greatest inspiration,” Buffett said in an interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/22/buffett-how-to-teach-your-kids-about-moneycommentary.html" class="">CNBC</a>&nbsp;back in 2013. “What I learned at an early age from him was to have the right habits early. Savings was an important lesson he taught me.”



When asked what he thinks is the biggest mistake parents make when teaching their kids about money, the billionaire said, “Sometimes parents wait until their kids are in their teens before they start talking about managing money — when they could be starting when their kids are in preschool.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Time is a factor</h2>



Yes, you read that right:&nbsp;Preschool.&nbsp;To Buffett’s point,<a href="http://littletexans.org/Media/36-48m%20English%20Parenting%20Guide%20-%20Web.pdf" class="">researchers have noted</a>&nbsp;that 80% of our brain growth happens by age 3.



One&nbsp;<a href="https://mascdn.azureedge.net/cms/the-money-advice-service-habit-formation-and-learning-in-young-children-may2013.pdf" class="">study from Cambridge University</a>&nbsp;found that kids are already able to grasp basic money concepts between the ages of 3 and 4. And by age 7, basic concepts relating to future financial behaviors will typically have developed.



“Most parents already know how important it is to teach their kids about money and how to managing it properly,” Buffett acknowledged. But there’s a difference between&nbsp;knowing&nbsp;and&nbsp;taking action.



According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.slideshare.net/TRowePrice/t-rowe-prices-10th-annual-parents-kids-money-survey" class="">2018 survey from T. Rowe Price</a>, which gathered responses from 1,014 parents (of children between the ages of 8 to 14) and more than 1,000 young adults (ages 18 to 24), only 4% of parents said they started discussing financial topics with their kids before the age of 5.



Thirty percent of parents started educating their kids about money at age 15 or older, while 14% said they never did at all.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lessons Buffett taught his own kids</h2>



In 2011, Buffett helped launch a children’s animated series called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smckids.com/games.php" class="">“Secret Millionaire’s Club,”</a>&nbsp;which featured himself as a mentor to a group of students.



There are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smckids.com/episodes/" class="">26 episodes</a>&nbsp;in the show, and each one tackles a financial lesson, such as how a credit card works or why it’s important to track where you put your money.



“I taught all [three] of my kids the lessons taught in ‘Secret Millionaires Club,’” Buffett told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/22/buffett-how-to-teach-your-kids-about-moneycommentary.html" class="">CNBC</a>. “They are simple lessons meant for business and for life.”



Here are a few lessons from the show, along with&nbsp;<a href="http://smckids.com/learnandearn/parents/activities/" class="">tips from Buffett</a>&nbsp;on how to teach them to your kids:



1.&nbsp;<a href="http://smckids.com/learnandearn/images/stories/pdfs/SMC-Parent-Wb24-GoingMentalForRental.pdf" class="">How to be a flexible thinker</a>



The goal of this lesson is to encourage your kids not to give up just because something doesn’t work the first time. The ability to think creatively and outside the box will come in handy when they run into future financial challenges.



Activity ideas:



<ul><li>Go to an art museum with your kids and discuss the different styles of each painting. Then, invite them to paint something of their own. Have them brainstorm different tools — besides the paintbrush — that can be used (e.g., sponges, cotton swabs, fingers).</li><li>Turn your trash into treasure by challenging your kids to come up with new uses for old things around the house (e.g., bottle caps can double as checker pieces, an empty cereal box can be turned into a magazine holder). This will help teach them how to think critically, save money and help the environment all at the same time.</li></ul>



2.<a href="http://smckids.com/learnandearn/images/stories/pdfs/SMC-Parent-Wb04-LawnAndOrder.pdf" class="">&nbsp;How to start saving money</a>



As Ben Franklin once said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” To help your kids learn to manage their money, it’s important for them to understand the difference between&nbsp;wants&nbsp;and&nbsp;needs.



Activity ideas:



<ul><li>Give each of your kids two money jars: One for savings and one for spending. Each time they receive money (e.g., as a gift, for allowance, for walking the neighbor’s dog), talk to them about how they wish to split the money between savings and spending.</li><li>Have your kids make a list or create a collage from magazine photos of five to 10 things they’d like to purchase. Then, go through each item with them and mark whether it’s a want or a need (e.g., a new toy is a want, while a new backpack is a need.)</li></ul>



3.<a href="http://smckids.com/learnandearn/images/stories/pdfs/SMC-Parent-Wb16-WhyPayMore.pdf" class="">&nbsp;How to differentiate between price and value</a>



We’ve all been guilty of paying more money for a cool brand of shoes or gadget when we could have gotten a similar item that was just as good for a lesser price.



The idea behind this lesson is to help kids understand the different ways advertisers get us to buy their services or products, as well as how to tell what is and what isn’t worth paying for.



Activity ideas:



<ul><li>Make a list of items you need at the supermarket, and then check flyers, newspapers and websites with your kids for items on the list that may be on sale. Compare those prices and see which store offers the best deal for a specific product.</li><li>Pick up a magazine with your kids and choose an ad to evaluate. Ask them: What’s being sold? What message is the ad trying to get across? What catches their attention in the ad? How does the ad make them feel? How is it trying to persuade them to buy the product?</li></ul>



4.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.smckids.com/learnandearn/images/stories/pdfs/SMC-Parent-Wb23-TheDominoEffect.pdf" class="">How to make good decisions</a>



The key to making smart decisions is to think about how different choices can impact future outcomes.



Activity ideas:



<ul><li>Buffett suggests modeling good decision-making skills and talking to your kids about your decisions as you make them, as well as any resulting domino effect they could have. For example: “We want to buy a new TV, but our AC is broken and we need to save money to get it fixed. If we don’t, it will be too hot in the house when summer comes. Once the AC is repaired, we can think about buying the TV.”</li><li>Get your kids into the habit of making good decisions about how to save money. Maybe there’s a DVD they want to buy. Ask them whether they really need it or if they can rent the movie from the library.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘It’s never too early’</h2>



Instilling healthy financial habits in your kids is one of the most important things you can do to help ensure they have a successful future.



“It’s never too early,” Buffett said in a Q&amp;A with&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/money-101--q-a-with-warren-buffett-140409456.html" class="">Yahoo Finance</a>&nbsp;in 2013. “Whether it’s teaching kids the value of a dollar, the difference between needs and wants or the value of saving — these are all concepts that kids encounter at a very early age, so it’s best to help them to understand it.”



Tom Popomaronis is a commerce expert and proud Baltimore native. Currently, he is the Senior Director of Product Innovation at the <a class="" href="https://rhawkinsgroup.com/">Hawkins Group</a>. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company and The Washington Post. In 2014, he was named one of the “40 Under 40” by the Baltimore Business Journal.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/30/warren-buffett-this-is-the-no-1-mistake-parents-make-when-teaching-kids-about-money.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/30/warren-buffett-this-is-the-no-1-mistake-parents-make-when-teaching-kids-about-money.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Warren Buffett: This is the No. 1 mistake parents make when teaching kids about money

JOHANNESBURG/VRYHEID, South Africa (Reuters) &#8211; Cattle have long been considered a measure of wealth across Africa &#8211; but it is not just farmers cashing in.



A pioneering app in South Africa lets investors, eager to benefit from rising global beef demand, buy shares in a cow from their mobile phone for as little as 576 rand ($41).



Self-styled “crowd-farming” company Livestock Wealth connects investors with small-scale farmers via its “MyFarmbook” app, where they can buy their own cow and receive interest rates of between 5% and 14% depending on where they put their money.



Launched in 2015 with 26 cows, the project now includes more than 2,000 cows and has taken in 50 million rand, with 10 percent of investors coming from outside South Africa.



Groups of investors can buy a whole cow, while individuals can purchase shares in a pregnant cow or young calf.



A pregnant cow costs 18,730 rand and takes 12 months before the newborn calf can be sold for a return, while investing in a calf costs 11,529 rand and takes six months for it to grow enough to be sold.



“We can link small scale farmers to big markets by introducing private capital into the growing phase,” said 38 year-old Livestock Wealth founder and CEO Ntuthuko Shezi, who was inspired by his grandparents’ farming success.



“The household bank account was a crop,” added Shezi of his family experience, standing among a herd of cattle at a partner farm in Vryheid, a ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal province.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">“EASIER” THAN REAL FARMING</h3>



Livestock contributes around 51% to the agricultural economy in South Africa, with global sheep and beef prices rising after droughts in major producing areas.



“Many people live in urban areas and they have interests in participating in farming but they cannot physically be there and this offers them a platform to do that,” said Wandile Sihlobo, economist with South African agribusiness association Agbiz.



Small business consultant Nontokozo Sabela, 34, was once interested in farming &#8211; but found the app a better alternative.



She bought her first cow in 2016 and earned around 6,000 rand from it. “This way it’s easier for me, it’s cheaper, it’s convenient,” said Sabela.



As with any investment, however, risks exist. Both the impact of weather on feed costs and fluctuations in global demand for beef can affect the cow investments.



Shezi now hopes to expand his business into the produce market after launching a vegetable growing system this month that aims to give a 220 rand return per month over five years.



($1 = 14.1696 rand)



Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Is African cattle investment the new cash cow? Here’s how investors are cashing in…

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kathleen-elkins/">Kathleen Elkins</a>



Since retiring from his 19-year basketball career in 2011, Shaquille O’Neal has seen just as much success off the court: He was <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/11/shaquille-oneal-tells-ellen-degeneres-how-he-invested-in-google.html">an early investor in Google</a> and has since accumulated an impressive portfolio, including <a class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/video/shaq-business-investment-slam-dunks/E05D17E5-2967-46DD-8AEC-941E4E975DD2.html">investments</a> in Apple, 24 Hour Fitness and nightclubs in Las Vegas. He also <a class="" href="http://money.com/money/5640584/shaq-business-empire/">owns 17 Auntie Anne’s</a>, a Krispy Kreme franchise and a Big Chicken restaurant in Las Vegas.



When it comes to investing, the former NBA star draws inspiration from Amazon’s founder and CEO: “I heard Jeff Bezos say one time [that] he makes his investments based on if it’s going to change people’s lives,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/shaquille-oneal-discusses-investing-franchising-and-donuts/8063A172-ABFF-496B-8700-4D51A6234054.html" class="">O’Neal told the Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;in a recent interview. “Once I started doing that strategy, I think I probably quadrupled what I’m worth.”



It helps him decide what opportunities to jump on and which ones to pass up. “If something comes across my desk and I don’t believe in it, I don’t even look at it,” said O’Neal, even if it looks excellent on paper. In fact, he rarely focuses on the numbers: “Whenever I do business, it’s not about the money.”



As he <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/08/shaq-talks-business-at-btigs-charity-day.html">told CNBC’s Bob Pisani last year</a>, “I never say, ‘If I invest in this, five years down the line, we could sell it for this.’ Every time I’ve had that model, it’s always been a failure.”



He’s not the only successful investor who sticks with what he knows and trusts. “Make sure you’re investing in things that you believe in, as opposed to investing in things that other people believe in,” PayPal’s senior vice president of international markets, Rohan Mahadevan,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/the-money-advice-every-millennial-needs-to-hear.html" class="">tells CNBC Make It</a>. He recommends testing a product or service before investing in it to better understand how the business operates.



O’Neal also prefers to work with companies he personally enjoys. Of all of his investments, Krispy Kreme is his favorite, he told the WSJ, “because I like donuts. &#8230; Krispy Kreme is a fabulous donut. I was introduced to it in college and have been in love with it ever since.”



That said, you don’t necessarily want to invest in something just because you like it. You want to make sure you truly understand the company, too,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/20/how-warren-buffett-decides-what-to-invest-in.html" class="">says legendary investor Warren Buffett</a>: “What an investor needs is the ability to correctly evaluate selected businesses. Note that word ‘selected’: You don’t have to be an expert on every company, or even many. You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence.



“The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital.”



Simply put, when it comes to investing, Buffett says to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/02/warren-buffett-simplifies-investing-with-a-baseball-analogy.html" class="">stick to what you know</a>. “Defining what your game is — where you’re going to have an edge — is enormously important.”



Once you’ve done that, <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/04/warren-buffett-buy-hold-and-dont-watch-too-closely.html">buy and hold</a>, he adds: “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/11/shaquille-oneal-says-he-invests-like-jeff-bezos.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/11/shaquille-oneal-says-he-invests-like-jeff-bezos.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Former NBA star Shaq: As soon as I started investing like Jeff Bezos, ‘I probably quadrupled what I’m worth’

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The South African unit of Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it would hire an additional 1,200 staff at one of its local assembly plants, an increase of over 25 percent, to add an extra shift and raise production.



The additional shift, which will increase production to 720 vehicles per day, is the result of a 3 billion rand ($215 million) investment in South Africa that was announced in 2017, aimed at increasing annual production to 168,000 units.



The U.S.-owned company currently employs around 4,300 people in South Africa, at the plant in the Silverton suburb of South Africa’s administrative capital Pretoria, which will add the extra shift, and at another site in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth.



“The third shift will allow us to ramp up our production from the current 506 vehicles assembled per day to a peak of 720 units to satisfy the strong demand from customers in South Africa, as well as for our crucial exports to 148 markets around the world,” Ockert Berry, vice president of operations for Ford Middle East and Africa said in a statement.



Ford joins a number of other global carmakers in ramping up production on the continent, which promises rapid growth at the same time as trade tensions and upsets like the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union threaten their operations elsewhere.



The South African arm of Japanese carmaker Nissan also announced a similarly sized investment earlier this year, increasing production at its local plant by 30,000 units, while BMW production chief Oliver Zipse said earlier this month that it had moved some production from the UK as a result of Brexit, and that British plants no longer built South African components.



Around a third of Ford’s local production is sold in South Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries, with the rest exported elsewhere.



The additional shift will start in August and will be focused on the New Ranger, Ranger Raptor and Everest models. The locally-built Ranger is ranked as the top-selling pick-up in Europe and leads light commercial vehicle exports.



The plant in Port Elizabeth produces 120,000 diesel engines per year for the Silverton plant, as well as 130,000 units per year for export to North America, China and Europe and 280,000 component sets per year.



($1 = 13.9720 rand)



Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

South African subsidiary of carmaker Ford plans to add 1,200 jobs

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Refinitiv says Sub-Saharan African investment banking fees reached an estimated $227.3 million in the first half of the year, the lowest first-half total in three years. Franita Neuville, Market Development Manager for Investment and Advisory at Refinitiv joins CNBC Africa for more.

Refinitiv’s banking sector outlook for sub-Saharan Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Mining company Vedanta said on Thursday that it is seeking an urgent court order in South Africa to prevent Zambia’s mining investment arm ZCCM from winding up its disputed Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) business.



Vedanta is locked in a dispute with the Zambian government, which accuses KCM of breaching the terms of its licence.



Vedanta denies that KCM has broken the terms of its licence and says it will defend its assets in Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer.



The case has intensified concerns among international miners about resource nationalism in Africa.



A ZCCM spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.



Vedanta said in a statement that it had obtained a temporary order in South Africa’s High Court allowing it to make an urgent request on July 16 for an injunction against ZCCM and a provisional liquidator at KCM.



Vedanta holds a majority stake in KCM, with ZCCM holding a minority stake.



“Vedanta will seek an interim court order declaring that ZCCM has breached the KCM shareholders’ agreement by pursuing winding-up proceedings against KCM in Zambia, and directing ZCCM to withdraw those proceedings,” the statement added.



Vedanta applied to the South African court because the KCM shareholders’ agreement makes provision for arbitration in South Africa.



Reporting by Alexander Winning, editing by Deepa Babington

What you need to know about Vedanta’s appeal to South African court to protect Zambian business

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System liquidity in Nigeria’s money market opened the second half of the year at 485.64 billion naira due to inflows from June 2019 bond maturities. Steve Osho, Co-Managing Partner at Comercio Partners joins CNBC Africa for an outlook of Nigeria’s money market in the second half of the year.

Nigeria’s H2 money market outlook

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Nigeria&#8217;s equities market recording its first positive close of the week as the All-Share Index gained 47 basis points. Moses Hammed, Investment Research analyst at Investment One Financial Services joins CNBC Africa for more.

Bellwethers lead equities rebound

WINDHOEK (Reuters) &#8211; Namibia is to host a two-day economic summit which is expected to attract at least $1 billion worth of investments over the next two years, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said on Wednesday.



Namibia’s economy has contracted for the last two years, and the southwest African nation has been ravaged by a drought which the meteorological services estimate to be the deadliest in 90 years.



The economic summit, which will take place from July 31 to Aug. 1 in the capital Windhoek, is aimed at reviving and growing the Namibian economy, creating job opportunities and attracting investment opportunities, the ministry said in a statement.



It will also seek to promote Namibia as an investment and tourist destination as well as identifying and removing bottlenecks that are slowing the growth of the local economy.



The International Monetary Fund projects that Namibia’s economy, which contracted by 0.8% and 0.1% in 2017 and 2018 respectively, will mildly contract again this year due to poor rains and reduced diamond production.



About 600 delegates from across the country, Africa and the world are expected to attend the summit, which is the first of its kind.



“The summit will provide a platform to showcase growth and investment prospects in the local economy as well as present local and international investors with a portfolio of investment projects in several sectors,” the ministry said.



Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Editing by Alison Williams

Namibia aiming for $1 billion worth of investments, here’s what you need to know…

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The Nigerian Stock Exchange says it will continue to work with market stakeholders to ensure the development of a robust Islamic finance sector as it presents opportunities for enhancing the country&#8217;s economic fortunes. CNBC Africa’s Wole Famurewa caught up with Jude Chiemeka, Head of Trading Business Division at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Nigeria explores opportunities in Islamic finance

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According to Kanka-Malik Natchaba, the Head of Togo&#8217;s Presidential Delivery Unit, Togo&#8217;s National Development Plan will bring economic transformation through industrialisation, value addition and social inclusion. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Christy Cole caught up with him on the side-lines of the Togo-EU Economic forum for a progress report on the National Development Plan.

Togo’s plan for economic transformation

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Jyrki Katainen, the Vice President at the European Union Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment, and competitiveness says one of the main pillars of the European Union&#8217;s External Investment Plan is to mobilise investment by de-risking private sector lending in high-risk sectors and countries. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Christy Cole caught up with him on the side-lines of the Togo-EU Economic forum and he shed more light on the EU&#8217;s commitment to Africa.

Assessing the EU’s plan to boost investment in Africa

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The European Union and Togo are linked by history and united by common desire says Faure Gnassingbe the President of Togo. In a speech kicking off the ongoing Togo-European Economic Forum, he spoke about the ways African countries can develop sustainably.

Maiden Togo-EU economic forum begins in Lome

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/emmie-martin/">Emmie Martin</a> 



“The key to your financial freedom in the future is investing when you are young,” Suze Orman, personal finance expert, best-selling author of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Women-Money-Revised-Updated-Orman/dp/0812987616/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=4DW7BVRGNY76PRRGC6Q0" class="">“Women &amp; Money”</a>&nbsp;and host of the&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suze-ormans-women-and-money/id1439621652" class="">“Women and Money” podcast</a>, tells&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/" class="">CNBC Make It</a>.



“I would much rather see you invest a specific amount of money when you are young, a lesser amount of money, than waiting and have to invest five or six times [as much] when you are older,” she says.



That’s because with <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/how-compound-interest-works-and-how-it-can-help-you-save-money.html">compound interest</a>, any interest accrued then earns interest on itself. So the earlier you start, the more your money will grow.



Orman gives the example of a 25-year-old who invests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roth-ira-plan-calculator.aspx" class="">$100 a month in a Roth IRA</a>&nbsp;for 40 years and earns a 12% average annual return. When that person retires at age 65, their investment will be worth just over $1 million.



But not everyone starts putting money away in their 20s. “You think, ‘I don’t have to invest, I’m young,’” Orman says.



If you start investing $100 per month at age 35, though, you’d only have around $300,000 by the time you reach age 65. “Those 10 years just cost you $700,000,” Orman points out.



“How much would you have to be investing later on to make up for that?” she says. “Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month.”



It is worth noting that all investments are risky and you’re never guaranteed to earn a 12% rate of return. The S&amp;P 500 index, for instance, has earned an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/18/the-sp-500-has-already-met-its-average-return-for-a-full-year.html" class="">annual average return of 9.8%</a>&nbsp;over the past 90 years, and&nbsp;<a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/tools/benchmarkreturns" class="">other indexes average even less</a>. But even at lower rates of return, the difference between starting at 25 and 35 is significant.



Here’s about how much you’d earn with various average annual rates of return if you invest <a class="" href="https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roth-ira-plan-calculator.aspx">$100 per month into a Roth IRA</a> and retire at 65.



 With a 6% rate of return



Starting at age 25: $196,000 Starting at age 35: $100,000



 With an 8% rate of return



Starting at age 25: $335,000 Starting at age 35: $146,000



 With a 10% rate of return



Starting at age 25: $584,000 Starting at age 35: $217,000



“The key isn’t the amount, the key is the time,” Orman says. So, even if you can only contribute $50 a month, do “whatever you can do.”



There are several easy ways to get started. The simplest choice is to contribute to an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/30/the-no-1-retirement-savings-mistake-is-skipping-the-401k-match.html" class="">especially if you’re offered a match</a>, which is essentially free money.



If your company doesn’t offer a 401(k), you can look into other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/09/definitive-guide-to-retirement-savings-accounts.html" class="">tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts</a>, such as a Roth IRA, a traditional IRA or a SEP IRA.



Outside of retirement accounts, many experts, including Warren Buffett, recommend <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/19/warren-buffett-and-tony-robbins-agree-invest-in-index-funds.html">investing in low-cost index funds</a>, which allow you to own a small piece of many different companies. You can curate a mix of funds yourself or <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/02/i-invested-my-first-7000-dollars-heres-where-i-decided-to-put-it.html">use a robo-advisor</a>, which does the work for you.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/suze-orman-why-you-should-start-investing-in-your-20s.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/suze-orman-why-you-should-start-investing-in-your-20s.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

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