LESSON SIX: On the Money

​CREATE A RIVALRY: Learn more about the election of 1860 and the Team of Rivals (2005) that Abraham Lincoln assembled, including a scheming Secretary of the Treasury. Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book won the annual prize for the best book about Lincoln, but it is his lieutenants who steal most of the show. 

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TEAM UP: Steven Spielberg used Goodwin’s book as a basis for the move Lincoln (2012), which is worth a look too. For his portrayal of Father Abraham, Daniel Day-Lewis became the first winner of three best actor awards. Chase doesn’t appear in the film as he was out of the administration by 1865 when the film takes place. But the movie gets a lot right about Lincoln, his personality and how he managed his team. Though the teammates are a bit less historically accurate.

Fact-Checking 'Lincoln': Lincoln's Mostly Realistic; His Advisers Aren't

Spielberg's film gets the president's disposition right, but doesn't quite do justice to everyone else. In May 1862, to the considerable frustration of anti-slavery stalwarts in his own party, Abraham Lincoln overturned an order issued by General David Hunter that would have freed every slave across vast swaths of the southern Atlantic coast.

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U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

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FOLLOW THE MONEY: You might expect a website like www. moneyfactory.gov to take you to a payday lender or the Federal Reserve. Instead, you get introduced to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where you can turn in mutilated currency, buy sets of $2 bills and explore how our money is designed, engraved, and sent to the printers. You can also read up on the history of cash in the United States, including the fact that “all currency issued since 1861 remains valid and redeemable at face value.” Yes, a few bucks from the Civil War can still be redeemed if you have them. But try not to think about all the compounding you missed over one hundred and fifty years. ​

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GO MAD WITH ME: You may think I’ve lost it and gone completely crazy. After bashing Jim Cramer, television pundits, and mass media in general, I’m sending you to a link from his show on CNBC. Jim calls compounding “magical.” And I could agree with him... if the sidebar in this chapter hadn’t clearly shown that it is science! 

Cramer: How to double your money in 7 years

Jim Cramer explains why young investors stand to benefit from the magic of compounding. It may seem small, but the gains add up.

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PUMP UP: You only see results in a fitness program, as previous successes build upon each other. The key is to work out regularly and see gains over a long period of time. That is a decent metaphor for explaining how compounding works courtesy of the Department of Defense and their retirement plan. Then pump up even more with a motivational video courtesy of Saturday Night Live. 

Pumping Up with Hanz & Franz

Watch Saturday Night Live highlight 'Pumping Up with Hanz & Franz' on NBC.com