Compounding Loves The Early

Compound growth means your returns start earning returns of their own. The snowball grows slowly at first, then absurdly fast. Its final size depends less on how much you fed it than on how long it rolled. That is why starting early with small amounts beats starting late with big ones. The result surprises almost everyone the first time they see it.

Run the teaching example, using a made-up smooth 7% yearly growth rate (real markets swing): Saver A invests $100 a month for just ten years, then never adds another dollar and lets it sit for twenty more. Total put in: $12,000. Saver B waits those ten years, then invests $100 a month for twenty straight years. Total put in: $24,000. At year thirty, A holds around $70,000. B holds around $52,000. Half the money in, more money out — A's only edge was time.

Nobody can reclaim a late start, and the principle is not a scolding about lost years. It points forward: of all the starting dates still available to you, the earliest one wins.

In the simulation, a micro-lesson slider opens at your first investment, and the What-If horizon lets you replay a run with an earlier start and watch the gap grow.