Market Timing Cost Calculator | Predictable Income

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Market Timing Cost

Quantify the hidden cost of sitting in cash waiting for the right moment to invest. Historical lump sum vs DCA vs cash.

Your Money

Amount Sitting in Cash ($)

Time You Stay on Sidelines 12 months

Market & Cash Assumptions

Expected Market Return 9.0%

Cash / HYSA Rate 4.5%

Long-Term Horizon After Deploying 20 years

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Invest Now

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lump sum today

📅

DCA Over Wait

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spread the wait window

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Wait in Cash

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then deploy lump

Cost of Waiting vs Investing Now

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Portfolio Growth — All 3 Strategies

Waiting — months in cash costs you — over — years compared to investing immediately. Dollar-cost averaging captures most of the upside while softening short-term volatility if you can't commit it all at once.

Market Timing Cost Calculator

Waiting for the right moment to invest is one of the most expensive mistakes investors make, and research consistently shows that time in the market beats timing the market. Our Market Timing Cost Calculator runs three head-to-head scenarios: investing your money as a lump sum today, dollar-cost averaging the same amount over your waiting period, and parking it in cash before deploying it all later. Enter the amount sitting on the sidelines, how long you plan to wait, your expected market return, and your high-yield savings rate, and the calculator projects all three paths through your long-term horizon. A growth chart shows exactly where each strategy lands. For anyone sitting on cash and trying to time the bottom, this calculator quantifies the opportunity cost in dollars, often more than enough to justify investing today.