If you can put the savings away for a number of years you'll do much better by choosing a quality stock mutual fund instead of a bank or credit union. There's also a sinister side to compound interest. If you borrow money it's important to make payments at least as great as the interest owed. Otherwise you're going to be charged interest on the interest that you didn't pay. OK, let's summarize.
Compound interest is a marvelous tool for saving money.
It works well for small or large amounts of money. Compound interest magnifies any increase in investment return. The effects of compound interest get larger as time goes by. You can earn compound interest anywhere as long as you allow your earnings to be reinvested. Aaron is off to a great start.