Young, wild, and financially baffled? Suze Orman thinks so. The iconic personal finance guru dropped some truth bombs that could help you stack up serious cash for retirement. According to Orman, too many 20-somethings are missing out on the sweet, sweet magic of compound interest, and it’s costing them big-time.

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“They don’t get the value of compounding, and how their age is actually the secret sauce to financial freedom,” Orman explained. The big problem? Young people think they’ve got all the time in the world to catch up on retirement savings later, when they’re raking in the big bucks. Spoiler: that’s a risky bet.

Getting your retirement savings game on point now is crucial. Underestimate how much you’ll need to stash away later, or how much dough you’ll actually need to live your best life in retirement, and you could be working way longer than you ever wanted. Worst case? You might not get to retire at all.

To prove her point, Orman laid out this juicy example: Say you’re 25, and you toss $100 every month into an S&P 500 index fund via a Roth IRA. If the market pulls an annual 12% return (we’re talking optimistic numbers here), you’ll be chilling with around $1.2 million when you hit 65. But if you snooze and wait until you’re 35 to start saving, you’re looking at just over $350,000. That’s an $850,000 miss just because you waited a decade.

Why? It’s all about compound interest. It’s that magical money multiplier where interest keeps earning interest, creating a snowball effect that grows your cash pile bigger over time. The earlier you get in the game, the more time your money has to work for you.

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But Orman says too many young people aren’t catching on.

And yes, all investments have risks, including the chance of losing money. Plus, let’s keep it real–an annual return of 12% isn’t something you should bank on. Historically, the S&P 500 has averaged about 10%, but even at a modest 6% return, starting at 25 means you’d still retire with over $200,000. That’s double what you’d get if you waited until 35 to start saving.

Invest Harder in Your 20s–It’s Worth It

Sure, you might be making less in your 20s than you will in your 30s, but that’s no excuse to slack on retirement contributions. Orman’s advice? Prioritize your future self by living below your means but within your needs, so you can sock away cash for retirement each month.

Orman’s a big fan of trimming the fat–like cutting out dining out. “Eating out is one of the biggest money drains out there,” she said. To avoid lifestyle inflation, she even resisted the urge to splurge on a million-dollar penthouse when her books started bringing in the dough, settling for a $250,000 apartment instead.

Translation: Just because you can afford something doesn’t mean you should buy it.

“The real deal is, you should be investing more in your 20s than in your 30s if you can,” Orman told CNBC Make It. Do that, and you’ll save yourself from the headache of having to play catch-up later on.

“I’d much rather see you invest a smaller amount when you’re young than have to scrape together five or six times that when you’re older,” she added.

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