Albert Einstein famously said that compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world, but its power is difficult to grasp. So, to give a simple visual demonstration, I'll double the amount of "c"s each time one is used in just three short sentences below. Imagine that each "c" is one cent deposited in a compounding savings account:

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As you can see, compound interest makes a lot of cents. Imagine what it does with dollars.* 

Check out how compound interest works by visiting our savings and retirement calculators here:

• Save now vs. save later
• Becoming a millionaire
• Income generated by a savings plan
• How long will it take to double my savings?
• How long until my savings reach my goal?
• How much should I save to reach my goal?
• What could my current savings grow to?
• Calculate Rate of Return
• How much will I need to save for retirement?
• Are my current retirement savings sufficient?
• Social security retirement income estimator
• How does inflation impact my retirement income needs?
• I'm retired, how long will my savings last?
• When should I begin saving for retirement?
• Should I convert discretionary expenses to savings?

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*Note that the number of compounding periods per year will affect the total earned on an investment. “Compound interest” is a commonly used phrase to indicate the accrual of funds by a compounding process, though at credit unions the accruals by this process are dividends.