The numbers were very much a part of the comment, and thus it is quite valid to guarantee you're still operating in reality when you make claims like that. Your 32 years to get $30,000 makes a lot of assumptions. One, that in 32 years $30k is going to be a significant amount of money, still. Second, that the person investing does not have an event in their life that would drain away any investments that they have, like an illness.