"How far away am I from a million dollars?" (#31; Topic D)

A unique feature in American newspapers, absent in their Chinese counterparts, is cartons. One of my favorites is Dennis the Menace; one reason might be that I have a grandson about Dennis's age. A few days ago, there was a panel showing Dennis kneeling on the floor, having emptied his piggy bank and counting its contents, being coins scattered about. Next to him was his mother, to whom he posed this question: "How far away am I from a million dollars?" While I cannot locate that panel (thus, the words used by Dennis may not be exact), this question lingers with me. The more I think about it, the more I appreciate the question's simplicity, profoundness, and educational value. First, I see Dennis setting a worthwhile and achievable goal -- a million dollars is a good sum of money; it is certainly a worthwhile goal. But, is it achievable? Very much so, particularly when one starts saving at an early age and continues doing so throughout the years. This is where profoundness comes in -- to achieve this worthwhile goal, one has to be persistent. The power of compounding is this panel's educational value. In time, Dennis would have a bank account (perhaps he has one already; emptying his piggy bank is but a prelude to depositing its contents into his bank account); with deposits into his bank account, and with their balance earning interest, which is compounded, Dennis is likely to be a millionaire several times over before he reaches his retirement age. What a simple but elegant way of educating the youngsters -- or educating an old man like myself.
Posted at 10:58 am, Sunday, January 15, 2006