A regular checking account pays almost no interest (often well below 1% per year), so any money you leave there barely grows and in fact loses value due to inflation.

In contrast, Taylor’s retirement plan grows at about 7% each year, so her contributions add up and compound over 40 years to create a much larger fund.

Keeping cash in her checking account would leave her with considerably less at age 65 that she would be able to withdraw over the next few decades.