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How growth compounds, and how it is measured

Why does the last decade of an investment contribute more than the first two, and which growth number should you believe?

6 steps · Foundations

The path

  1. Read

    How compounding actually works

    The arithmetic behind every projection on this site, and why starting earlier beats investing more.

  2. Calculate

    Compound Interest Calculator

    Change the compounding frequency and watch how little it matters next to time. That surprises most people.

  3. Read

    CAGR, XIRR, and which one your returns actually need

    Two ways to state the same growth, and the situation where one of them is simply wrong.

  4. Calculate

    CAGR Calculator

    One investment, one start, one end: the simple case, so the harder one has something to sit against.

  5. Calculate

    XIRR Calculator

    Money going in and out on different dates — what a real portfolio looks like.

  6. Quiz

    Investing quiz

    These are the questions people get wrong when they have only read about it.

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After this one

Deposits: the safe end of the shelf

What do an FD and an RD actually pay, and what is the part nobody mentions?