Compounding is not a reward for being clever. It is a reward for being early and boring. Everything on this page is arithmetic you can run yourself — there is nothing to open, deposit or buy.
Three free calculators for the numbers that matter most early on. The full explanations are in the ebook.
What {{ monthlyLabel }} a month becomes in {{ years }} years at {{ rate }}%. {{ paidInLabel }} of it is money you put in; {{ growthLabel }} is interest doing the work.
Drag the years to travel forward. The dotted line is what you paid in; the shaded area above it is interest you did nothing to earn.
Start five years later and you end up with {{ delayLabel }} instead. Those five years cost {{ delayGapLabel }} — more than every dollar you would have contributed in them.
{{ monthlyLabel }} a month is about {{ latteCount }} six-dollar iced lattes a week. Nobody is telling you to stop. It is just useful to know the drink has a second price tag of {{ fvLabel }}.
Illustration only. Assumes a constant return compounded monthly, which no real market has ever provided.
Every loan is the same trade: money now, more money later. Responsible use is not abstinence — it is knowing the second number before you agree to the first.
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Tick whichever are true of a loan you are considering.
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A $1,840 card at 24.99% and a $3,200 student loan at 6.5%, with one extra {{ extraLabel }} a month. Choose where the extra goes first.
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On minimum payments alone, the card takes {{ minMonths }} and costs {{ minInterest }}.
Drag to see where utilization starts to count against you.
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How money grows, what debt really costs, and the words nobody explained to you. The calculators are here; the reasoning behind them is in the book.