Two people start with $5 million and earn the same investment returns, but one ends up much wealthier after 20 years. The difference isn't the return itself. It's how and when you withdraw money to fund your life. The timing and size of withdrawals change how much stays invested to compound.
How do 2 people start with $5 million, earn the exact same investment returns, spend the exact same amount of money per year, but end up in completely 2 different financial positions 20 years later? Now you'd think that they'd end up about the same amount of money, but the return doesn't tell you the whole story because you also have to look at the structure, how each person pays for their life along the way and what that does to the money that they leave invested. How the way that you fund your lifestyle can change your entire financial future even when your investments perform exactly the same way.
