Investing means putting your money to work so it can grow over time. When you buy a share of a company's stock, you're buying a tiny piece of that company. If the company does well, your share becomes worth more! The stock market lets anyone own parts of amazing companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google. One of the most powerful concepts in investing is compound growth — your gains themselves start earning gains. Albert Einstein called compound interest "the eighth wonder of the world." Starting early is the most important thing — money invested at age 12 is worth far more than the same money invested at age 22.