Investment Calculator

Where the final value comes from

What this means

This projects how money grows with compounding: your initial lump sum grows by the factor (1 + r)ⁿ, and each monthly contribution grows separately, so the earlier you contribute, the more time it has to compound. The final figure combines the lump-sum growth with the accumulated contributions and their returns. Because contributions compound, a steady monthly amount 'does the work' for you over time — which is the core argument for starting early and investing regularly.

Recommendations

• •Start as early as possible — compounding makes your money work harder than you do once it has decades.
• •Invest regularly (dollar-cost averaging) to smooth out market highs and lows rather than timing entries.
• •Keep contributions automatic — set-and-forget removes emotion and procrastination.

Watch out

• •Expected returns are a projection, not a promise — markets go down as well as up.
• •Real returns should be net of fees and taxes, which reduce the headline rate.