The Money PagesDid It Grow—or Did You Add It?
Two balances reach $110 by different paths.
Two pretend accounts start with $100. Later, both show $110. Did they grow in the same way?
Not necessarily.
In the first, the saver added $10 from money they already had.
In the second, the account paid $10 of interest under its made-up rules. The saver added nothing.
A deposit is money put into an account. Interest is money the account may pay under its rules.
Both balances are $110, but the extra money came from different places. To understand growth, keep track of money added and money earned. This example is not a promised interest rate.
Money words
Deposit
Money put into an account.
Money you add and money an account earns are different. Count both separately when checking growth.
