Now do $10 added every year.

And then $10 added every month.

I have no idea where you got the 6% returns. If you invest in S&P 500 alone for the past ten years, the average yearly returns is 10-11%. Investing in stocks would yield far more if you pick the right ones.

Ronald Read was already and still living frugally in spite of living in a post-war economic boom and already having millions. I'm aware that we are in a cost of living crisis and younger generation got left out of that economic miracle, although there is still a point to be made about living within the means. I have a friend who keeps buying a new car every two years, and another who keeps buying junk food and going to restaurants. And they complain they can't afford a house (the latter did eventually have been able to afford a house mortgage but frankly, it's because he has a partner who earns a higher income). A third friend travelled far and wide, but have no savings towards buying a house. I have been able to afford a house because I had to sacrifice all those (and not out of volition, truth be told). Boomers could live travel, party, and then buy a house, raise more than three kids under a single household income and then have a comfortable retirement, and most boomers did not even invest.

People still have the outdated notion that saving alone is enough to afford what one wants to achieve because that's what our grandparents and parents did and taught us and it worked for them; but not for us anymore. Most people these days still don't realise that we have to sacrifice plenty of our goals and desires to achieve only one; and we are living as if we are in post-World War 2 economic boom so a person don't realise what they have to cut so much more expenses. With cost of living crisis and widening wealth inequality, inflation degrades the value of interest savings account, while investment typically outpaces inflation. And even possessing fractional shares, there is still some returns that wpuld be much higher than savings interest rate. That's still better than nothing. And the stock market always goes up in spite of turmoils and subsequent aftermaths. That has been proven by study of economic data going back from 1600s.

People seem to push back and say investing is useless with $10. Like I said and another commenter mentioned, most financial advisors would say don't worry about an economic crisis, worry about personal financial crisis. If a person really need $10, then don't invest and settle any outstanding debts first before investing. But to say you need to have plenty of money to invest is bonkers, and earning profit of $100 after investing $10 is still better than nothing. In Japan alone, the number of people investing increased from 12% in 2012 to about 18% in recent years. An EU official even encouraged more Europeans to invest, acknowledging that saving alone is not enough (as we speak, there has been significantly increased in trading volume in the US stock market). That tells you how important investing is. I mean, of course settle the debt first because every cent counts before investing.