THE MONEY TREE
Money grows the way a tree grows.
It starts small. A hundred dollars. A seed in the ground.
Then branches grow branches. That's the whole trick.
The longer it grows, the faster it grows. Time does the heavy lifting.
THE IDEA
Interest on interest.
Put in $100 and let it grow 10% a year. Year one, it earns $10. Year two, the $10 earns too. That's all compounding is: your growth starts growing. A branch, then branches on the branch.
We use 10% because that's the long-run average of the whole US stock market, before inflation. Some years are worse, some better. It's an average, not a promise.THE CROSSOVER
One day, the tree grows more than you plant.
Keep adding $200 a month and there comes a year when the growth adds more than your deposits do. From there the tree does most of the work. That year is closer than most people think.
YOUR TREE
Now you. Grow your own.
Nothing here is saved or sent. Play as long as you like.
YOUR TREE, FULL GROWN
$0
THE GREENHOUSES
Same seed. Better soil.
In Canada, the government gives you greenhouses: special accounts where your money grows and the taxman can't pick the fruit. Same saving habit, faster tree. Tap each one to look inside.
THE TAX BITE
What the picking costs.
Here's the same $200 a month, same 10%, for 30 years, in two gardens. In the open garden, tax picks part of the growth every single year. In the greenhouse, it doesn't. Watch the gap.
THE HEAD START
Maya stops. Sam never catches up.
Maya saves $200 a month from 25 to 35, then never adds another dollar. Sam saves $200 a month from 35 all the way to 65. Same soil, same 10%. At 65, Maya put in $24,000 and Sam put in $72,000.
MAYA. STARTED AT 25, STOPPED AT 35
put in $24,000
SAM. STARTED AT 35, NEVER STOPPED
put in $72,000
Maya put in a third as much and ends ahead. The tree did the work. Whatever your age, the longest summer you'll ever get starts today.
FAIR WARNING
Weeds grow the same way.
A credit card at 24% is the same math planted against you. Carry $3,000 and pay only the minimum, and the weed regrows faster than you cut it. Compounding doesn't care what it grows. It just grows.
THE PATH
Your step-by-step path.
Everything on this page, in the order that actually works. Start where you are and take the next step.
Cover the storms.
Before growing money, protect it: insurance for the what-ifs, and a small cash cushion for surprises. That's your safety net.
SEE THE COVERSPull the weeds.
High-interest debt compounds against you faster than markets grow for you. Clear the credit cards first.
WHY IT'S FIRSTPick your greenhouse.
Buying a first home? FHSA. Kids? RESP. Otherwise TFSA first for most people, RRSP as your income climbs.
MEET THE FIVEPlant every month.
Automate an amount you never have to think about. The habit matters more than the amount.
TRY YOUR NUMBERSLet it roll. Review yearly.
Time does the heavy lifting. A yearly check keeps the plan matched to your life as it changes.
BOOK YOUR CHECKHONEST ANSWERS
The questions everyone asks.
The US stock market has averaged about 10% a year over the last century, before inflation. A savings account is closer to 4%. Pick the one that matches where your money actually sits.
No. Markets have bad years, sometimes bad stretches. The averages come from sticking around through them. That's why time in the ground matters more than timing.
Try it: put your age in the calculator. $250 a month from 40 to 65 still builds around $330,000. Late beats never, every time.
$50 a month over 40 years is about $315,000, and almost all of that is growth, not deposits. Small seed, long summer.
Divide 72 by your growth rate. At 10%, about seven years. That's the whole formula, and it's the only one on this page.
If your income is modest or you might need the money, TFSA first. The RRSP shines when your income is higher, because the refund is bigger. Saving for a first home? FHSA first, it does both jobs.
A TFSA lets you take money out anytime, tax free, and the room comes back the next year. Life happens; that flexibility is why it's most people's first greenhouse.
Your own home is usually spared by the principal residence exemption. Every other property is treated as sold that day, and its growth is taxed. That's the bill life insurance is most often bought to cover, so the family keeps the property instead of selling it to pay the taxman.
THE NEXT STEP
Ready to plant?
Run your numbers, then let's talk about your situation: TFSA or RRSP first, the FHSA, insurance that grows money, or just where to start with $100 a month. A conversation costs nothing.
No pressure, no jargon. Bring your questions.