It may have passed you by last month without you even knowing, but May 20 was officially celebrated as Be a Millionaire Day.

When I was a student in Butler Intermediate High School in the early 1980s, my economics teacher gave our class the assignment of determining whether we would earn a $1 million during our working years.

At that time, the average worker wouldn’t even come close. That’s not the case today, but earning $1 million is much different than accumulating it.

Although $1 million today is certainly not what it once was, it now has become more of a concept that symbolizes financial security. Still, how satisfying would it be to know if and when you have joined the ranks of the Millionaire’s Club?

As is true with anything you set out to accomplish in life, you need to have an end goal and plan the steps to reach that goal.

To illustrate this point in a financial setting, let me introduce you to a fictional couple, Eric and Emily Early. This couple decided early in their careers to make money on their money.

Between them, they earned $60,000/year, each had a 35-year career and each received an annual wage increase of 3 percent. During their working years, each spouse contributed 10 percent of their earnings to their retirement plans, which earned 5.75 percent rates of return.

At the end of their working years, the Earlys accumulated more than $1 million in their retirement accounts and became members of the Millionaires Club before reaching retirement.

Contrast this with Carl and Cathy Catch-Up. They too earned a combined $60,000/year over 35-year careers with 3 percent annual wage increases.

However, the Catch-Up couple waited until their 10th years of employment to begin contributing 10 percent of their earnings to a retirement plan. With the same 5.75 percent rate of return, this couple accumulated about $650,000 in their retirement accounts.

What a difference 10 years can make.

Since the Catch-Ups will likely spend their retirement years drawing against their investment savings, they will not gain membership to the Millionaires Club.

With which fictional character do you more closely identify — Earl and Emily Early or Carl and Cathy Catch-Up?

As you ponder that thought, I leave you with this quote from Albert Einstein: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t, pays it.”

Wendy Bennett is a senior financial adviser in Butler.