How much will regular periodic payments be worth in the future with compound interest?
The future value of an annuity calculates how much a series of equal, periodic payments will be worth at a specified future date. This is fundamental for retirement planning — how much will your monthly 401(k) contributions grow to?
Investing $500/month at 7% annual return for 20 years: FV = $260,464. You contributed only $120,000 total — the remaining $140,464 is compound interest growth.