Power of Compounding – How can it make you rich?

Effect of Compounding on your investments:

Click here to be a part of myMoneySage Elite an exclusive community to the elite and discerning who want to maximize their wealth by leveraging the power of unbiased advice

Magic of Compounding-

The word magic may take you down the realms of fantasy. So wondering what magic has got to do with the money? No, it is not a magic mantra to make you rich and wealthy overnight. Rather, it is just a prudent investment advice. The income generated from an asset is reinvested. Thus, the earnings from the investment also work at creating more income. That’s the Magic of Compounding or Power of Compounding!

In simple words, earnings generated from earnings is called compounding. Most financial planners would tell you that saving on a regular basis is the best way of making your investment grow. That is what our fathers and grandfathers have been telling us from our childhood. Save regularly and ensure that your investment grows manifold. SIPs also exploit this magic of compounding to generate regular and consistent returns over a period.

Using the power of compounding to achieve financial goals

Saving is a habit that one must inculcate at a young age and it’s not a difficult task indeed. The earlier you start, the earlier you can achieve and even surpass your goals. The early bird gets the worm. Similarly, those who start earlier would have the magic of compounding working for them at an earlier age, thereby creating wealth.

Learn how to mange your money & create wealth, Download your FREE eBook now

A simple example that explains the power of compounding can be found in a mythological story and it goes like this; A king, who lost a battle, asked the victor to grant him double the number of grains as the previous square on a chess board. That means, if square number 1 has 1 grain of rice then square no 2 would have 2 grains, square 3 would have 4 grains, square 5 would have 16 grains and so on. The victor agreed and then watched in awe as the numbers added far greater than all the rice that could possibly be produced in many centuries!

This story is often told to children to explain the power of small savings and how it can reach epic proportions through proper planning. Achieving financial goals and being financially secure is not magic or a fairy tale.

Like I have been telling you all along, start young to reap the best benefits. The longer your money stays invested, the longer you can allow it to compound. Like a fine wine, that blossoms with age, so too would sound investments. Ensure that you have a diverse portfolio to hedge risks and watch the power of averaging and the magic of compounding help you achieve financial security in a lesser time. Remember, interest is earned on even a small amount of money.

Let’s understand this with an example:

Suppose Ram starts investing Rs. 1,000 monthly, at the age of 30 and Shyam starts investing Rs. 2,000 monthly, at the age of 45. Both decides to retire at the age of 60 and the invested amount is compounded monthly. You can see the difference in the wealth that both have accumulated at the time of their retirement in the table below:

Click here to be a part of myMoneySage Elite an exclusive community to the elite and discerning who want to maximize their wealth by leveraging the power of unbiased advice

You can see in the above table, Ram started at an early age and Shyam started at a later age. Even though both of them invested the same principle amount, Ram’s corpus is more than twice the corpus accumulated by Shyam, at the time of their retirement. That’s what compounding can do to your money if you start at an early age.

A small difference in the interest rate has a big difference in your return over a period of time.

Let’s take an example:

You have invested a lump sum of Rs. 500,000 for a period of 5 years. Now, by the principle of compounding, the return on your investment at 8% after 5 years will be Rs. 734,664 and at 10% will be Rs. 805,255. Now, here is the magic of compounding; for a difference of 2% in the interest rate, the difference in the return is Rs. 70,591 (Rs. 805,255- Rs. 734,664).

Also read: 6 Steps for Financial Planning of Young Adults

Compounding and Investment Planning

Investment Planning is all about managing risks and maximizing returns. Higher risks mean higher returns and vice versa. Set your financial goals early. To do this, you must plan out your life goals and should be aware of the available income at different stages of your life. Next, you must identify investments that will help you achieve your financial goals. Make sure that you calculate your investment goals across your time horizon. Given time, even small investments will grow significantly.

A 30-year-old man would have a different risk appetite and time horizon when compared to a 45-year-old man or a 62-year-old man. Thus, appropriate financial goals must necessarily be time bound. A person thinking of buying a house in 5 years needs to decide his budget and plan to ensure that he has the down payment available in five years time. Like we often hear, slow and steady wins the race. Therefore, nurture your tree of wealth each day and reap rich dividends in the future.

Learn how to mange your money & create wealth, Download your FREE eBook now

Thus, make small savings from your income to make provisions for your sunset years. When planning for your future, make sure that you follow a disciplined approach and invest systematically. Even a modest initial investment will multiply manifold using the power of compounding.

Final Words

Compounding means earning interest on interest. The earlier you start, the more magic you can see of the power of compounding and the wealthier you will be.

So what are you waiting for? Invest right away and start enjoying the magic of compounding. Transform your hard earned money by teaching it to work for you so that you can sit back and relax!

Disclaimer:

This article should not be construed as investment advice, please consult your Investment Adviser before making any sound investment decision.

If you do not have one visit mymoneysage.in

myMoneySage.in is an award winning personal finance platform. It helps you aggregate all your personal finance accounts like FD, Equity, Mutual Funds, PPF EPF, NPS including, Credit Cards & Loans etc. It's one place where you can track, plan and invest seamlessly. myMoneySage.in empowers you to invest in zero commission direct plans of mutual funds thereby helping you generate higher on investments. The best part is it comes with a lifetime Free plan.


Switch to direct mutual funds in 3 simple steps, earn 30% more return on your investments. Register to get a FREE myMoneySage account.

You may also like...

  • RANOBIR DEY says:

    Does Lump sum investment in MF’s undergo average of compounding like SIP’s ? whats the best scenario of investment standing in March 2017 , if one has a big amount say 10 Laks – to invest in SIP’s or Lump sum ?

    • Mymoneysage says:

      Dear Ranobir Dey

      Thanks for reading the article.

      Lump sum investments are as good as SIPs. What’s more important here is your financial goal, investment horizon & your risk appetite.

      Lump sum are good for those who
      – don’t want frequent investing of small amounts
      – who like to take big bets at once.
      – who can stomach big losses in their portfolio values
      – who can precisely estimate the money required to finance the goals.

      However, lump sum isn’t that great strategy if you want to get the best from the markets.
      SIPs would help in
      – habit of regular savings & disciplined investing.
      – gives you rupee cost averaging in this highly volatile scenario of 2017
      – reduces risk of high loss as you place smaller systematic bets

      Apart from this, there’s another way to invest big amounts i.e. Systematic Transfer Plan (STPs).
      – Firstly, park Rs 10Lakh in a liquid fund
      – Then, initiate STP from the liquid fund to Equity Fund.

      • RANOBIR DEY says:

        i have 10 lacs in hand , if i have a time horizon of 3 yrs should i invest in balanced funds in 4 to 5 equal parts – say 2 or 2.5 lacs per balanced fund ? else whats d best altv ?

        • Mymoneysage says:

          Dear Ranobir Dey

          It would be beneficial to invest in debt funds like MIPs as you’ve got an investment horizon of 3 years.

          Did you know!

          You can get streamlined advice from an expert advisor on this. Register for FREE on http://www.mymoneysage.in today and get your queries solved.

  • Suman Kumar Gayen says:

    Its a very good article with beautiful example. You can also have some perspective on http://investdunia.com/benefit-savings-early-know-power-compounding/ also.

  • Jaspal Singh kohli says:

    My son aged 29 is having a SIP OF Rs.6000 per month for the last 4 years in IDFC PREMIER EQUITY FUND GROWTH, it is not doing well request to suggest alternate option for accumulated money and for future SIP for better returns.

    • Mymoneysage says:

      Dear Jaspal Singh Kohli

      Thanks for reading the article!

      Your son can switch to SBI Magnum Midcap Fund to boost the returns.

  • >
    error: Content is protected !!