Investors Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett have made unbelievable fortunes through long-term, value investing.

Making money in the stock market can be dependent on your willingness to invest in long-term investments or buying only undervalued stocks. With a margin of safety on these stocks you will have a little peace of mind and if you are like Warren Buffett, you too may well be able to enjoy an average 22% annual gain. Even more enticing if you know that that's his record over the last 39 years!

Tremendous results like this are not easily duplicated in the short term or without great experience. With some work and time being on your side it is possible to be the next Warren, but even more possible and likely is for you to become a major player on the investment scene.

No seriously, you can.

The S&P 500's average long term result is a return of about 11%. Now if you aimed to beat that consistently, that would mean that you are doing very well indeed, almost well enough to live a very comfortable, relaxed existence.

For example - you have $3,000 a year that you can invest purely for your future retirement.

Why are you screaming at $3,000 a year? That's only $250.00 a month! Come on - you want to retire, don't you?

Well, invest that in a tax-efficient retirement account that compounds interest, hitting the average 11% at least. Now have a look at your account in twenty years time and you'll find that you have an extra $178,000, thanks to compound interest - a total of $238,000.

The key to the game is not so much the size of the financial investment that you are making as it is the way that you use it.

Starting young and using the power of compound interest can make you a retirement millionaire in less time than you could ever have imagined. Some investors will lovingly call using compound interest simply using the 'force' while others simply call you an idiot for not using it. If you are one of the one's with the foresight to start investing now, you will be one of the one's with the ability to brag about the general comfort of your retirement.

Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham aren't geniuses or once-in-a-lifetime lucky dogs; they are a few guys who used their money to make money. By putting in everything later in life you may make a solid return, by putting in a solid amount early in life, you may make everything.