The Same Seed in a Sheltered Pot - tax now, tax later, or never

The Tank board draws savings as a reservoir that refills from its own level. This lesson adds a lid: a reservoir the tax collector agrees not to dip into every year, in exchange for a rule about when you may open it.

Before you start. You need compounding from Compound Interest, the 8th Wonder: growth earns growth, so anything taken out early takes its whole future with it, which is how a small yearly fee eats a quarter of a pot. The Bet on the Whole Haystack - index funds, active managers, and costs and Thirty-Four Years to Break Even - horizon, risk capacity, and the mix help, because they are about the long horizons where this lesson matters most, but nothing below depends on them.