43% of Americans name not investing earlier as the single biggest
financial mistake of their lives, according to a Clarify Capital survey of
1,000 adults. Respondents estimated their net worth would be $40,000 higher
today had they started sooner — and one in three put the figure at $100,000
or more. A separate CNBC/MagnifyMoney survey found a nearly identical rate:
45% regret not investing more over the prior decade. On the action side,
Bankrate’s nationally representative survey places regret over investment
losses or poor investment decisions at roughly 12% — and even that figure
captures regret about how one invested, not regret about having started
early. The asymmetry is consistent but narrower than the general
invest-vs-save entry because this framing isolates timing rather than
participation.
The mechanism is compound interest working in reverse as a regret amplifier.
A 25-year-old who puts $10,000 into an S&P 500 index fund and leaves it for
30 years at the historical ~10% nominal return ends up with roughly $175,000;
the same person waiting until 35 ends up with ~$67,000 — a gap that exists
entirely because of the ten lost years, not because of any difference in
skill or risk tolerance. Börsch-Supan et al. (2023) confirmed this pattern
with peer-reviewed rigor: surveying US adults aged 60-79, they found 58%
affirm saving regret — the wish to have saved more earlier. Notably, their
analysis found that life shocks (unemployment, health crises, divorce)
explained more of the variation than procrastination or psychological
traits, suggesting that saving regret is partly driven by circumstance
rather than pure inaction bias.
The caveat is regime dependence. These surveys were fielded during or shortly
after a 13-year US equity bull run in which the S&P 500 returned roughly 15%
annualized. Someone who invested early in Japan’s Nikkei in 1989 waited over
30 years to break even; someone who bought US equities in March 2000 was
underwater for a decade. The 43% inaction-regret figure is partly a product
of hindsight bias magnified by a historically favorable period. In a
high-interest-rate environment — such as 2023-2024, when US savings accounts
and CDs offered 5%+ — the gap between “invest early” and “keep in term
deposits” narrows considerably. The directional finding (timing regret favors
starting early) is robust across most long horizons; the magnitude is
era-dependent and should not be read as a universal constant.
Sources: action
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
[1]Bankrate — Survey: 2 In 5 Americans Regret Not Saving Enough For Retirement Or Emergencies
Reference source
Only 12% of Americans cited investment losses or poor investment decisions as their biggest financial regret, far below inaction-type regrets
Excerpt
“"The top regret is not saving for retirement early enough (22%), followed by taking on too much credit card debt (15%) and not saving enough for emergencies (10%). Poor investment decisions rank well below the inaction regrets. Not saving for retirement early enough has been the No. 1 regret among Americans for six out of the seven years Bankrate has asked about financial regrets."
”
Source data from
2024-08-20
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Bankrate commissioned YouGov to survey 2,355 US adults (July 16-18, 2024), nationally representative via non-probability sample with quotas. Among all financial regrets, poor investment decisions rank at roughly 12%. We use this as the action-regret rate for people who invested early and regret that timing. The figure is generous — it includes all investment regret, not just early-timing regret.
[2]CNBC / MagnifyMoney — Nearly 40% of investors who pulled money out of markets in the last year regret it
Reference source
38% of investors pulled money from the stock market due to current events; of those, 40% wish they had stayed invested
Excerpt
“"38 percent of investors said they sold stocks last year due to a current event, and of that group, 40 percent said they wish they'd kept their money invested. Among those who sold at the start of the pandemic, 88% now regret that decision."
”
Source data from
2022-05-16
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
This corroborates that among people who acted on their investments (sold or withdrew), regret overwhelmingly runs toward wishing they had stayed in the market — not toward wishing they had never invested. The predominant action-regret is about exiting, not entering.
Sources: inaction
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
[1]Clarify Capital — The Financial Regrets Report: What Americans Wish They Did Differently↗ 1 other entry
Reference source
43% of Americans say not investing earlier is the biggest financial mistake of their lives; respondents estimated $40,000 higher net worth had they started sooner
Excerpt
“"Not investing earlier was the top reported financial mistake at 43%, followed by overspending (38%), having too much debt (29%), and not enough savings. On average, respondents estimated their net worth would be $40,000 higher today if they had avoided their biggest financial mistake. One in three believed they'd have $100,000 more."
”
Source data from
2023-06-15
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Clarify Capital surveyed 1,000 Americans (average age 41). The 43% figure specifically captures regret about timing — not investing early enough — rather than regret about not investing at all. The $40K net worth gap is self-estimated and likely conservative for those who kept money in term deposits during a prolonged equity bull market.
[2]CNBC / MagnifyMoney — 45% of American adults regret not investing more in stocks
Reference source
45.1% of Americans feel they missed financial opportunities by not investing more or at all over the past decade
Excerpt
“"45.1% of Americans feel they've missed out on financial opportunities by not investing more or at all over the past decade. This regret was consistent across income levels."
”
Source data from
2022-12-23
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
MagnifyMoney commissioned Qualtrics to survey 1,541 US adults (ages 18-76, Nov 15-21, 2022). The 45% figure corroborates the Clarify Capital 43% — both center on the timing dimension of investment regret. The CNBC framing emphasizes the "past decade" window, which encompasses the post-2009 bull market.
[3]Bankrate — Survey: 2 In 5 Americans Regret Not Saving Enough For Retirement Or Emergencies
Reference source
22% of Americans say not saving for retirement early enough is their No. 1 financial regret — the top regret for six of seven years Bankrate has tracked it
Excerpt
“"Not saving for retirement early enough has been the No. 1 regret among Americans for six out of the seven years Bankrate has asked about financial regrets. 22 percent cited it as their top regret in 2024. Only 15 percent of people with a financial regret have made significant progress on it in the last 12 months."
”
Source data from
2024-08-20
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Bankrate's 22% figure uses a different framing — "not saving for retirement early enough" — which captures the same timing regret but in a broader financial-regret menu. The lower figure reflects competition with other regret categories (debt, emergencies), not weaker sentiment. The persistence across seven annual surveys confirms this is not a one-year anomaly.
[4]Journal of Economic Psychology / Börsch-Supan, Bucher-Koenen, Hurd & Rohwedder — Saving regret and procrastination↗ 2 other entries
Peer-reviewed
58% of US adults aged 60-79 affirm saving regret — the wish in hindsight to have saved more earlier in life
Excerpt
“"We defined saving regret as the wish in hindsight to have saved more earlier in life, and measured this along with possible determinants in a survey of U.S. households where respondents were aged 60–79. We found high levels of saving regret: approximately 58% of respondents affirmed it. Married, older, healthier and wealthier respondents were less likely to report saving regret."
”
Source data from
2023-02-01
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Börsch-Supan et al. (2023), Journal of Economic Psychology 94. Peer-reviewed study using a nationally representative US sample of adults aged 60-79. The 58% saving-regret rate corroborates the survey-based findings (43-45%) with a stronger methodology. The higher rate likely reflects that older adults have more hindsight and larger realized opportunity costs. Shocks (unemployment, health, divorce) explained more variation than procrastination, suggesting saving regret is partly driven by life events rather than pure inaction bias.
Caveats
The 43% inaction rate (Clarify Capital) and 12% action rate (Bankrate) come from different surveys with different question structures. The Clarify Capital survey asked specifically about "biggest financial mistake" with investing timing as a response option; Bankrate's survey spread regret across a broader menu. The $40,000 net-worth gap is self-estimated, not actuarially calculated — people anchor on round numbers and may overstate or understate the true opportunity cost. All three inaction surveys were conducted during or shortly after a historically strong US equity bull market (2009-2022, S&P 500 ~15% annualized). In a prolonged bear market or stagnation regime (Japan post-1989, US 2000-2010), inaction regret would be significantly lower and action regret higher. Term deposit holders in high-interest environments (e.g., 5%+ rates in 2023-2024) may have less regret than these surveys suggest. The Börsch-Supan et al. peer-reviewed finding (58% saving regret among 60-79 year-olds) confirms the directional pattern with stronger methodology but also shows that life shocks, not just procrastination, drive much of the variation. The delta of 0.31 is moderate and regime-dependent. Survey data are drawn exclusively from United States samples; satisfaction and regret rates in countries with different institutional structures — financial markets, tax-advantaged account structures, and capital-gains regimes — may differ substantially.
