The Eighth Wonder of the World

“The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.”

Albert Einstein 

On a day so calm, under sky so blue, just like in a fairy tale, though this story’s true; a mommy and daddy brought a girl to their world.  

She was tiny and perfect.  Her small body curled into a comma until she stretched out; giggling, and sniffling, and wiggling about. 

Her eyes were so bright, her skin like fresh cream.  She was the beguiling answer to their beautiful dream.

She looked as full as a promise, so that’s what they said, when they named her that night, as they lay in their bed.

They looked on their newborn, with nothing but love, as pure and as still as the heavens above.  

A flawless gift given, she demanded respect.  Mom and Dad must be mindful, and know what to expect.

They were both wise, to indeed understand: all life is exciting, though all life can’t be planned. 

It can be prepared for, and so that’s what they’d do.  I know this story’s fantastic, but I swear it’s all true.

Living is quite costly, and they shouldn’t spend too much, buying things they didn’t need, and drifting further out of touch.  

Savings are important, especially when you’re young – if you wish to climb life’s ladder without slipping down a rung.  

As Promise grew,  her needs would too.  The pressure would surely mount.  Before we get too busy, let’s pause and start to count:

College, car, a wedding day; plus, Mom and Dad could bet, their Promise would need at least ten things, not invented yet.

Now here’s the rub – the problem large, at which Mom and Dad were staring: how could they do what should be done and keep their daughter caring?  

They wanted Promise to have the World, while staying nice and gracious; like living in a one room flat, and thinking that it’s spacious.  

They did not want to spoil her, or cause her head to swell.  No, Promise must be humble and she must treat others well.  

They would keep her savings secret, until she could understand, that the finest things in life are those you gain with your own hand.

The road was long in front of them.  They would have to start their walk.  Mom and Dad had a cup of tea and a long and winding talk.  

They had to save more money, but they had none left to save.  They would need to change some habits, and financially behave.

A little isn’t much, until time prods it toward a lot.  Just keep adding, rain or shine, and soon that’s what you’ve got.  

Mom and dad, each one had, some things they could improve.  It’s the little things that mean a lot when you financially improve.  

Dad went to the Jolt-N-Bolt to help him stay awake.  

 He loved their roasted coffee and the muffins they would bake.  

Mom bought lots of magazines and fancy haircuts too.  She quit with both these luxuries; the least that she could do.

Day by day, Mom and Dad, gathered all their extra cash.  At the end of the month, a BIG surprise, look how much they had stashed.  

Three hundred bucks, and yes I know, it sure sounds like a lot.  But let’s add lots of time on top, and then see what we’ve got.        

When you gather lots of money, your horizons are uncurled, and that’s why compound interest is the Eighth Wonder of the World. 

At three-hundred a month, for five straight years, they now had twenty-five grand. Let’s not get too excited.  Instead, let’s watch these funds expand.  

Three-hundred a month, was now one-fifty a week, because their interest grew.   What an amazing secret, they thought.  What if everybody knew?

Mom and dad kept squirreling dough in all the falling years, saving money helped them shed unnecessary fears.  

They never gave attention to what everybody knew.  Especially with their Promise watching everything they do.  

They never spent their dollars on a lot of useless stuff, and when their daughter asked for more, they said,  “No, you’ve had enough.”

Let’s skip ahead now, several years, until Promise is nearly grown.  Mom and Dad are perfectly proud with the qualities she has shown.

A humble girl, just as they wished.   They had taught her many things – like how to think intelligent, and how to spread her wings.      

Promise was a modest girl, always willing to work hard.  She never failed to pay herself, with her own debit card.  

She looked ahead, toward her brightest future yet to come.  It was almost time to leave for school, and that is a substantial sum.

But Promise insisted on paying it all – every tuition bill (even though she was clueless she was worth a quarter mil).  

Just three-hundred a month could add up to that?  How could that possibly be?  

It’s the miracle of compound interest.  Keep on reading and you’ll see.

Let’s jump ahead seven years.  Promise is twenty-five.  She is brilliant, bold, and beautiful.  She is vividly alive.  

She had found someone with whom she wanted to share forevermore, but weddings were expensive; a fact that she could not ignore.

But Promise had saved just enough for the day inside her head.  She wanted things to remain quite simple, at least that is what she said.  

Promise still had no clue what lay quietly in wait – one half a million dollars, by her pending wedding date.

Our tale concludes with another five years piled on our story.  Promise and her husband had worked to finalize their glory.  

They had a house, and a baby too, a descendent of their own.  Someone they could love and cherish, until he was all grown.  

Promise was an angel.  She was diligent and kind.  Her family’s future never strayed too far outside her mind.  

Mom and Dad were ready to tell, and fully confident, that thirty years of saving had been three decades nicely spent.  

Just three-hundred a month, every month, in Promise’s account,  had blossomed, bloomed and burgeoned into a generous amount.  

For Promise, and her family, the sum was oddly strange.  Living life was mostly a cinch with a million bucks and change.

 

 

Writer Dad

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