The Early Bird Saver: why starting young beats saving more

Tell a ten-year-old that starting to save early matters more than saving a lot, and they’ll nod politely without believing a word. It sounds backwards. So let them race two savers on paper and find out for themselves.

How it works

1. Set the rule. Each round, a saver can put 5 coins in their pot. At the end of every round the bank adds 1 coin for every whole 5 in the pot. Each round stands for a few years.
2. Meet the savers. Early Bird saves 5 a round in rounds 1 to 5, then stops and never adds another coin. Late Starter saves nothing in rounds 1 to 5, then 5 a round in rounds 6 to 10.
3. Ask for a prediction. They both put in exactly 25 coins. Who ends up with more? Write the guess down.
4. Work through the rounds. Your child does the sums. As a check, Early Bird should have 43 after round 5 — and Late Starter still has nothing.
5. Keep going to round 10. Early Bird isn’t saving any more, but the bank keeps adding. Late Starter is saving hard and catching up slowly.
6. Compare the pots. Early Bird finishes with 104 coins, Late Starter with 43, from the same 25 each. Ask: where did Early Bird’s extra coins come from?

What usually happens

Most children predict a draw, or back the Late Starter for trying harder at the end. Rounds 6 to 10 are where it lands: the Early Bird’s pot grows by more each round while the Early Bird does nothing at all.

It’s worth being honest that the game speeds things up. Real savings accounts pay far less than 1 in every 5, so the same effect takes decades rather than rounds. That’s the reason grown-ups are told to start a pension young — and a good moment to mention it.