What My Dog Can Teach You About Compounding

When my dog was just a puppy, I spent a rainy afternoon training him on commands.  It was around Easter, so to keep his interest, he’d sit while I filled 3* plastic eggs with hot dog pieces, stay in one room while I hid them in the other and wait until he was called to come find his eggs.  We both proudly showed off our new skills when my husband came home that day.

Flash forward a few weeks and my normally gentle giant just about dislocates my shoulder on a walk.  Here, he dragged me across the street because a neighbor had filled their birdbath with those plastic eggs.  Running over there, he must have thought it was his lucky day – we hadn’t played in a while, but there were more than 3 eggs.  They multiplied!  Dozens upon dozens of filled eggs!   A lifetime supply of hot dogs!** 

How saving for retirement it like hot-dog-filled eggs!

Saving for retirement can be the same way.  If you’re saving for your retirement nest egg with each pay, it might not seem like it will amount to much.  But, keep filling your account up, give it some time to compound and when you turn the corner, maybe you too might end up with a birdbath full of retirement assets!

Test it out for yourself

Use the Wealth Building Calculator to see how compounding can work for you! (Note: the calculator is for illustrative purposes only). Click here to start the calculator, or visit our Participant Education Center to find this and other planning calculators. 

*  Why 3 eggs?  I was testing out this quote.  Truth.  If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. –Phil Pastoret

**  10 years later and we still play the Easter Egg Game.  Though, as pet owners know all too well, we have to spell out the name if we’re not ready to play it at that exact moment!

Melissa Varvarezis, CFP®, is an Communication and Education Specialist with BPAS Fiduciary Services.