The first euros you invest have the longest time to grow.
Start early, even small.
Each chip is €100 a month for ten years. Place eight between age 25 and 65.
A euro saved at 25 works as hard as nearly eight saved at 55.
← Red LinesRed Line 9 of 48 The idea The numbers Try it Where it bends This game’s numbersHow strong the proof is Where it comes from
A euro put in at 25 has 40 years to grow. The same euro at 55 has 10. The early ones do most of the work.
Ana saves €100 a month from 25 to 35, then stops: €12,000 in. Ben saves €100 a month from 35 to 65: €36,000 in. At 7% a year, at 65 Ana has about €131,000, Ben about €118,000.
Whatever your age, the euros you put in this year are the earliest you have left. Small and now beats big and later.
Starting late still beats never. The second-best time is now.
Worked out on this page
=Outside the four steps: it follows from the arithmetic
True by the sumsThe first euros have the most years to grow: at any return above zero, more years means more growth on growth. That is arithmetic.
- The Wealthy Barber David Chilton, Stoddart Publishing, 1989
- Triumph of the Optimists: 101 Years of Global Investment Returns Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh & Mike Staunton, Princeton University Press, 2002
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · How we grade
- A Strong proof: Many good studies or long official data, from different teams or countries, point the same way.
- B Good proof, with limits: Solid studies agree on the direction, but the size varies, or the data covers few places or few kinds of people.
- C Mixed proof: Some good studies for, some against, or the evidence covers only part of the line.
- D Thin proof: Mostly one book’s argument, one survey or stories. It may be wise, but it has not been tested well.
- = True by the sums: It follows from arithmetic, so no study can overturn it. We still show what real data says.
David Chilton, The Wealthy Barber (1989). In our words, not quoted.
See it in numbers: Start early · Compounding (From Zero)
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