Learn the math behind your investment plan

Finance

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Do you know the math behind your investment plans?

Compounding occurs when you gain interest in your investment over time, resulting in an increase in your profits. The force of compounding allows your profits to rise in tandem with your assets. Here’s how to comprehend it better. Compound interest is the addition of interest to the original investment (principal amount).

Because the amount is added to the original investment and the new interest is computed on this amount, the investment will continue to increase as this procedure is repeated throughout the investment term.

What is compound interest?

Compound interest is interest computed on a deposit based on both the original principle and the accumulated interest from prior periods. In other words, compound interest is the interest earned on interest. You may compound interest at various intervals, such as daily, monthly, or yearly.

The more compounding periods there are, the bigger the compounded interest. Consider it like a snowball. The earlier you begin to save and the more money you put into your snowball, the greater it will grow. Consider what would happen if you pushed the snowball down a snow-covered slope. The snow you’ve previously packed will remain, and you’ll collect more. 

When your snowball reaches the bottom of the hill, it will have the snow you began with, the snow it collected along the way, and even more snow on top of that.

In other words, the interest-on-interest effect may provide ever-increasing returns on your original investment. As a result, the more regularly you save and the greater the amount you save, the higher the interest rate. This is also known as “the compounding miracle.”

Why is compound interest important?

Compound interest accelerates the growth of your money. It grows an amount of money quicker than simple interest since you get returns on the money you invest as well as returns at the conclusion of each compounding period. This implies you won’t need to save as much money to achieve your objectives!

When it comes to growing money, the power of compounding in investment plans may be invaluable. The sooner you create an interest-bearing account and begin putting money aside, the more money you will make via compound interest. It is also critical in mitigating wealth-eroding causes such as growing living costs, inflation, and a loss of buying power.

How Does Compounding Occur in Investment Plans?

Investment strategies are created to maximize the power of compounding. When the value of fund units rises, investors benefit. If you invest with a long-term view, the power of compounding will be fully released, allowing you to expand your investment.

This is especially true in investment programs, where returns in the form of capital gains are reinvested to produce new profits.

If you opt to put Rs 1,000 every month in an investment plan scheme for the next ten years, and the rate of return is 8% per year, your initial investment of Rs 1,20,000 would give a profit of Rs 1,82,946.

If you choose to invest it for another 10 years, the money you have now reinvested will increase even quicker, bringing you Rs 3,94,967. Compounding is distinguished by the fact that your previous investment, as well as the return on investment and the new investment each month, all contribute to future benefits.

Compound Interest Formula and Steps to Calculate Compound Interest

Compound interest is a way of gaining interest in the money that has been invested. Although you can use a compound interest calculator. In order to manually calculate compound interest, you must first understand:

1. The quantity of your first investment

2. The rate of interest offered by your investor

3. The number of times your interest is compounded annually.

4. The number of years you want to remain invested

Once you have these data, you can rapidly calculate how much you will receive from a compounding interest investment.

The compound interest formula is as follows:

A = P (1+r/n)nt

The values are:

  • A = Future value of the investment
  • P = Principal amount invested
  • r = The rate of interest (decimals)
  • n = Number of times interest gets compounded per period
  • t = Number of periods the money is invested for

Let’s have a look at how to compute compound interest using the above formula. Assume you have a ten-year investment of INR 10,000. Your investment earns 5% interest each year, which is compounded yearly. So, in the first year, you earn INR 500 on your INR 10,000 investment. Your primary amount increases to INR 10,500 in the second year. You have now earned INR 525 in interest on your increased principal amount, for a total of 10,500 + 525 = 11,025. Using the technique above, you can rapidly calculate how much money you will have at the end of 10 years.

  • P = INR 10,000
  • r = 0.05
  • n = 1
  • t = 10

A = 10000 (1 + 0.05/1)10 = INR 16,288.95

So, the total interest you earned is INR 6,288.95. Try out our online compound interest calculator to save your time.

How to use the Compound Interest Calculator?

If you’re not sure what type of interest rate you need, use our compound interest calculator. To begin, you must determine how much money you have to commit upfront. Fill in the blanks with this number. Following that, you may opt to put additional money into your investment at regular intervals.

Enter the amount you want to contribute and choose whether you want monthly or yearly payments. Next, pick how long you want to invest. Will you make monthly payments for five, ten, or twenty-five years? You can move the slider or just enter the number of years in the given box.

When you’ve finished putting money into your investment, you might opt to stay involved for a longer period of time. This implies that your interest will continue to compound and rise over time. When deciding how long you want to remain invested, make sure it is longer than the number of years you intend to invest for.

Wrapping It Up

The interest generated on interest is known as compound interest. Compound interest causes your investments to rise significantly over time. As a result, even a lesser beginning investment amount may result in greater wealth-building if you have a longer investment horizon, say five years.