Age: 25
Real wealth: --
Best: --

Compound Climb

Invest early, invest late, or not at all. Watch three lives grow over 40 years and beat the inflation monster.

Compound Climb

Mia, Leo and Sam are 25. Pick when each starts investing and how much a month, then fast-forward to 65 through example market years, crashes and an inflation monster that makes everything pricier. In a crash, hold or panic-sell. Score what they have at 65, in today's money.

40 years
Investing

How to play

Make three plans. For each friend, pick a start age and a monthly amount. Starting later lets them put in more each month.
Fast-forward. Decade by decade through example market years. Most go up, some go down.
Hold or panic-sell. When markets crash, choose for each friend. Selling keeps the money in cash for two years before it goes back in.
Score. Everyone's wealth at 65 in today's money, after inflation: one point per $100.

Quick tips

Start early. Small amounts started early often beat bigger amounts started ten years later.
Invest what you can. Money left in the bank at a low rate loses value to inflation year after year.
Hold through crashes. Selling after a drop locks in the loss and often misses the recovery.
Think in today's money. A million in 40 years buys far less than a million today. Look at real values.
Stay boring. Regular monthly amounts, held for decades, do most of the work.