Albert Einstein called compound interest "the greatest mathematical discovery of all time". We think this is true partly because, unlike the trigonometry or calculus you studied back in high school, compounding can be applied to everyday life.
The wonder of compounding (sometimes called "compound interest") transforms your working money into a state-of-the-art, highly powerful income-generating tool. Compounding is the process of generating earnings on an asset's reinvested earnings. To work, it requires two things: the re-investment of earnings and time. The more time you give your investments, the more you are able to accelerate the income potential of your original investment, which takes the pressure off of you.
To demonstrate, let's look at an example:
If you invest $10,000 today at 6%, you will have $10,600 in one year ($10,000 x 1.06). Now let's say that rather than withdraw the $600 gained from interest, you keep it in there for another year. If you continue to earn the same rate of 6%, your investment will grow to $11,236.00 ($10,600 x 1.06) by the end of the second year.
Because you reinvested that $600, it works together with the original investment, earning you $636, which is $36 more than the previous year. This little bit extra may seem like peanuts now, but let's not forget that you didn't have to lift a finger to earn that $36. More importantly, this $36 also has the capacity to earn interest. After the next year, your investment will be worth $11,910.16 ($11,236 x 1.06). This time you earned $674.16, which is $74.16 more interest than the first year. This increase in the amount made each year is compounding in action: interest earning interest on interest and so on. This will continue as long as you keep reinvesting and earning interest.
Starting Early
Consider two individuals, we'll name them Pam and Sam. Both Pam and Sam are the same age. When Pam was 25 she invested $15,000 at an interest rate of 5.5%. For simplicity, let's assume the interest rate was compounded annually. By the time Pam reaches 50, she will have $57,200.89 ($15,000 x [1.055^25]) in her bank account.
Pam's friend, Sam, did not start investing until he reached age 35. At that time, he invested $15,000 at the same interest rate of 5.5% compounded annually. By the time Sam reaches age 50, he will have $33,487.15 ($15,000 x [1.055^15]) in his bank account.
What happened? Both Pam and Sam are 50 years old, but Pam has $23,713.74 ($57,200.89 - $33,487.15) more in her savings account than Sam, even though he invested the same amount of money! By giving her investment more time to grow, Pam earned a total of $42,200.89 in interest and Sam earned only $18,487.15.
Editor's Note: For now, we will have to ask you to trust that these calculations are correct. In this tutorial we concentrate on the results of compounding rather than the mathematics behind it. (If you'd like to learn more about how the numbers work, see Understanding The Time Value Of Money.)
Both Pam and Sam's earnings rates are demonstrated in the following chart:
 |
You can see that both investments start to grow slowly and then accelerate, as reflected in the increase in the curves' steepness. Pam's line becomes steeper as she nears her 50s not simply because she has accumulated more interest, but because this accumulated interest is itself accruing more interest.
Pam's line gets even steeper (her rate of return increases) in another 10 years. At age 60 she would have nearly $100,000 in her bank account, while Sam would only have around $60,000, a $40,000 difference!
 |
When you invest, always keep in mind that compounding amplifies the growth of your working money. Just like investing maximizes your earning potential, compounding maximizes the earning potential of your investments - but remember, because time and reinvesting make compounding work, you must keep your hands off the principal and earned interest.
What does the 'Power of Compounding' mean to an investor?
Ms Thrifty, Mr Realist and Ms Follower went to the same school and the same class.
On her 10th birthday, Ms Thrifty's father gave her Rs100. She wisely invested the money that earned her an interest of 15% every year.
Mr Realist won Rs200 as prize money when he was 16 years old. His friend, Ms Thrifty, advised him to invest his prize similarly.
When Ms Follower earned her first salary at the age of 21, she salted away Rs400 in the same investment.
After reaching the age of 60, all three decide to withdraw their investments. Who do you think realised the most from his/her investment?
You think it's Ms Follower, right? After all, she invested four times the money that Ms Thrifty had invested. So what if she invested the money 10 years later. She did earn interest for 40 years anyway after that.
But think again. Ms Thrifty makes the most out of her investment! In fact, her Rs100 is worth Rs1,08,366. On the other hand, Ms Follower's Rs400 is worth Rs93,169!
On her 10th birthday, Ms Thrifty's father gave her Rs100. She wisely invested the money that earned her an interest of 15% every year.
Mr Realist won Rs200 as prize money when he was 16 years old. His friend, Ms Thrifty, advised him to invest his prize similarly.
When Ms Follower earned her first salary at the age of 21, she salted away Rs400 in the same investment.
After reaching the age of 60, all three decide to withdraw their investments. Who do you think realised the most from his/her investment?
You think it's Ms Follower, right? After all, she invested four times the money that Ms Thrifty had invested. So what if she invested the money 10 years later. She did earn interest for 40 years anyway after that.
But think again. Ms Thrifty makes the most out of her investment! In fact, her Rs100 is worth Rs1,08,366. On the other hand, Ms Follower's Rs400 is worth Rs93,169!
It simply means that the LONGER you stay invested the MORE you make.
Now you know why Ms Thrifty made more money than Mr Realist and Ms Follower.
Let us try another small exercise.
Let us assume Ms Thrifty, Mr Realist and Ms Follower invest Rs100 for 10 years. However, all three of them earn interest at different rates. Ms Thrifty earns 20% while Mr Realist earns 15% and Ms Follower manages a 10% interest rate.
Can you work out what each one of them will have ten years hence?
Ms Thrifty will have Rs619 while Mr Realist, Rs405. Ms Follower will have the least - Rs259 in ten years. Did you notice something though? While the interest rates differ by just 5%, in 10 years the worth of the original capital, Rs100 was vastly different!
Let us try another small exercise.
Let us assume Ms Thrifty, Mr Realist and Ms Follower invest Rs100 for 10 years. However, all three of them earn interest at different rates. Ms Thrifty earns 20% while Mr Realist earns 15% and Ms Follower manages a 10% interest rate.
Can you work out what each one of them will have ten years hence?
Ms Thrifty will have Rs619 while Mr Realist, Rs405. Ms Follower will have the least - Rs259 in ten years. Did you notice something though? While the interest rates differ by just 5%, in 10 years the worth of the original capital, Rs100 was vastly different!
That is another way of understanding the 'Power of Compounding' or the power to grow exponentially.
Now that we have understood the magic of compounding, it is time to take a look at an interesting rule associated with 'compounding' - the Rule of 72.
The 'Rule of 72' is an easy way to find out in how many years your money will double at a given interest rate. Lost?
Suppose the interest rate is 15%, then your money will double in 72/15= 4.8 years. In case, the interest rate is 20%, then the money will double in 3.6 years.
Interesting rule indeed!
Moral of the story: The longer you stay invested the more you make!
The 'Rule of 72' is an easy way to find out in how many years your money will double at a given interest rate. Lost?
Suppose the interest rate is 15%, then your money will double in 72/15= 4.8 years. In case, the interest rate is 20%, then the money will double in 3.6 years.
Interesting rule indeed!
Moral of the story: The longer you stay invested the more you make!
No comments:
Post a Comment