Money WondersPlay

Saving & Compound InterestInterest

Simple Interest

Interest paid only on what you put in

Interest is older than coins, and an early word for it also meant a goat. What did goats have to do with money?

You'll find out

  • What $1,000 earns at 5% a year
  • Why interest was a goat
  • Who capped it about 3,800 years ago

Why it matters

Simple interest is the base of every rate you'll ever meet, on savings and on loans.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 38 · Zone 5

Play this lesson

Free to play in your browser or on iPhone

More in this zone

  1. 37SavingPay Yourself FirstSave before you spend, not after
  2. 39Compound InterestInterest on InterestCompound interest turns a straight line into a curve
  3. 40Compound InterestThe Rule of 72Divide 72 by the rate to see how fast money doubles
  4. 41Compound InterestEinstein Never Said ItThe 'eighth wonder of the world' quote has no source
  5. 42Compound InterestStart at 20 or at 30?Ten years of waiting can cost more than ten years of saving
  6. 43PatienceFranklin's 200-Year GiftBenjamin Franklin left £1,000 to Boston to grow for 200 years; by 1990 it was worth millions
  7. 44Saving PsychologyFuture You Is a StrangerYour brain treats your older self like someone else
  8. 45SavingThe Emergency FundCash that turns a crisis into an inconvenience