Each December, roofs shimmer with twinkly LEDs, Mariah Carey emerges from hibernation, and even the most cynical among us feels a flicker of… something. Nostalgia? Wonder? Relief that they can soon put on their out-of-office and ignore work emails? Hard to say.

We tend to think the “magic” of the holidays comes from a single cinematic moment — the perfect snowstorm, the surprise gift, that part in The Family Stone where Diane Keaton looks past Sarah Jessica Parker’s strange throat tick and finally accepts her into the fold.

But the truth (the unglamorous, vaguely anthropological truth) is something a little less Hollywood. The magic comes from repetition, ritual, and the layering of experience over time.

It’s the result of consistency: the same rituals repeated year after year.

The same ornaments pulled from the same box. The same movie watched on the same couch. The same recipe that never quite turns out the same, no matter how sternly you glare at it.

Each repetition layers memory upon memory. The first time you bake cookies with your kids, it’s fun. The tenth time, it’s tradition. The twentieth time, it’s ✨nostalgia. ✨

In short: tradition compounds.

That’s how investing works, too.

There’s no single “magical” moment when wealth appears. No perfectly timed trade. No secret handshake into your cousin’s-barber’s-nephew’s stock-picking syndicate. And probably no meme stock rocket ship ready to whisk you, GameStop-style, to instant fortune.

Wealth is built quietly, through repeated habits: saving regularly, staying invested, and resisting the urge to reinvent everything each season.

line-height: 15.6933px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">Each contribution over the years, each decision not to panic, each moment of patience — it all layers together into something meaningful (and hopefully lucrative).

Holiday magic, and success in investing, both rely on the same principle: steadiness.

Compounding doesn’t care about excitement. It rewards consistency.

Investing success is much less about finding the perfect moment and far more about not interrupting the process. Think of it as the financial equivalent of resisting the urge to open the oven every five minutes while the turkey is baking.

For a guiding principle referenced as predictably as the fruitcake that makes its annual rounds: the Rule of 72 reminds us that at roughly a 6% return, it would take about 12 years for your money to double.

Not because of cleverness or shock or spectacle. Just because time and consistency are quietly powerful.

So as the year winds down, pour the cocoa, build the snowman, and enjoy the Mariah.

Because the best holiday memories — and the best investment results — aren’t flashy. They’re faithful.

Vanessa ☃️