Just let your wealth compound over time and you’ll be a millionaire, the advice goes. If this is true why aren’t more people rich?UNDERSTAND, SHARE & PUSH BACK

  • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    That’s because what it takes is time, a resource we are all limited on. The only way to accelerate it is to have a head start like already being rich or having money seeded from family or have enough spare income early on to front load it for growth. Instead, most start with nothing, make the least when we’re young, often not being able to even start saving and accruing interest until we’re older, and when we make the most money is near our retirement when that money has the least amount of time to accrue interest before we start eating into it to live off of. If you front load it with a lot of money you could line just off interest alone.

    • jacksilver@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      No amount of time will make you wealthy through compound interest with the current economic system.

      While your money does grow in a savings account, the rate of growth is lower than the economy or real value of the money.

      Just think about what a million dollars could have bought you in the 80s vs 00s vs now.

      • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        Yes your interest does also need to outpace inflation. Not seen a savings account that pays interest of anything like that right now. Nothing low risk is keeping up with inflation.

        • jacksilver@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          That’s the thing, interest rates are almost always less than inflation. The only reason they flip is because inflation needs to be brought down.

          The reason for this is that the government/economic model is designed to encourage spending. Holding money is effectively lost “opportunity” so the real value of the dollar is always pushed down.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      That’s because what it takes is time, a resource we are all limited on.

      And patience, a quality most people lack.