The Wonders of Compound Interest

Albert Einstein called compound interest "the greatest invention of all time." It has even been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World." The trick is to get this tremendous force working for you rather than against you.

Is compound interest gobbling up a significant chunk of your earnings? If you maintain an ongoing balance with a credit card company, compound interest is costing you much more than you probably realize.

Let's start with basic interest, which is a fee that you pay to a lender for the privilege of borrowing his money. This interest is attached to the original amount at an agreed upon rate. Compound interest is calculated on the balance owing plus any previous interest charges. So then you find yourself paying interest on the interest. This compounding effect continues until it virtually takes on a life of its own. Credit card lenders make a killing putting this principle to work for them. Allow me to illustrate.

Let's say you're carrying a balance of $1,000 on a credit card with a 15% APR. If you pay only the minimum each month, you could conceivably gnaw away at this debt for over 25 years and end up repaying a total of over $3,400! If, on the other hand, you could commit yourself to paying $100 per month, this debt would be wiped out in less than a single year and the interest would come to a much less offensive $75.

Now let's look at what would happen if you took $1,000 and put it to work for you instead of against you. Let's assume that you are able to keep your hands off this money and simply let it sit and earn 6% interest compounded annually. After 12 years, your money would have doubled without you adding one extra penny!

You can quickly figure out in your head how long it will take for a sum of money to double by applying the "Rule of 72." You simply take whatever interest rate you're earning (6% in this case) and divide it into 72. The result will be the number of years required to double your money. (72/6 = 12 in our example)

You can apply the rule backwards as well. Let's say you have a lump sum of $5,000 that you would like to grow into $10,000 in 8 years. You would need to find an investment that pays 9% compound interest. (72/8 = 9). If the best you can find is an 8% return on your money (hypothetically speaking,) then it would take you 9 years to double your money. Not bad for just letting it sit there!

Now let's assume that you want to help the growth rate along, so you add an extra hundred dollars to this account just once a year. At the end of the 12 years, you would now have $3,800. If you could discipline yourself enough to add $200 a year, then you would find yourself with almost $5600. Seeing your money grow like this might well entice you to invest more money each month and really reap the benefits of this wealth-generating principle. And there's more good news. These examples demonstrate what happens when your investment compounds annually. Some institutions are more generous, compounding your interest quarterly, monthly or even daily.

It's pretty clear which end of the compound interest principle you want to be on. The first step toward the winners' circle is to pay off your existing debts. Even if you're already having trouble making ends meet, a mere $1 addition to a minimum payment can significantly shorten the life of that loan. That's right, just one dollar. You won't miss it and it would be well worth it. Remember the compounding effect. And once you're out of debt, there's no minimum for earning compound interest. Any sum that you can set aside will do. You don't need to be Donald Trump or Bill Gates in order to benefit from compound interest. It can work wonders for us all.

About The Author

Rosella Aranda, international marketer, writer and business mentor, collaborates with a team of experienced professionals to help people achieve financial health and peace of mind. To learn how to reduce your debt, view: http://www.FreeFreedomSeminar.com. For further information on how you can become financially independent, please visit http://www.FinancialFreedomWorld.com or write to rosella_aranda@yahoo.com.

Bad loans were legally hidden as Lenihan made pledge Irish Times The flaw allowed banks to conceal substantial losses on troubled loans. It reversed the pre-2005 rules under which banks were forced to recognise immediately, losses on bad lending. From 2005 onwards banks were required to wait until the borrower ... and more »

INDABA: Global Mining, Metals Loans, Bonds Rose In 2011 As IPOs Faded -E&Y Fox Business Bank loans for 2011 totaled $187 billion, with about half related to refinancing, consultancy-and-accounting firm Ernst and Young said. Bank loans were up 2% on the year while corporate-bond issues were up 16% on the year at $83.8 billion. and more »

President Obama's student loan debt relief plan goes into effect early Daily Sundial By Irene Nesbitt Graduate students received financial assistance from President Obama's student loan debt relief plan last month. Originally, this was supposed take place on Jan. 2014, but in the midst of the tuition and loan crisis students will see ... and more »

SBA lending returns to pre-boom levels Washington Post A steady flow of new loans backed by the Small Business Administration in the Washington area is helping some institutions return to the pace of lending that was common in the pre-boom years. Through the three months ended Dec. and more »

Daily Mail

'Pay-day' loans used to fund plastic surgery: Website deals linked to 'good looks' Daily Mail By Vanessa Allen Pay-day loan firms came under fire yesterday for offering unsecured lending arrangements to fund cosmetic surgery. Glossy websites promote short-term pay-day deals alongside unsecured loans to pay for operations including face lifts, ... and more »

Change.org

Online Campaign Prompts Sallie Mae to Change Fee Policy for Loan Suspensions New York Times On Thursday, three months after Bank of America backed down from imposing a $5 monthly debit card fee in response to an online Change.org petition that collected 300000 signers, Sallie Mae, the nation's largest private student-loan provider, ... Sallie Mae will credit $50 fee to suspend loan paymentsWashington Post Jobless grads rap Sallie Mae over loan feeMarketWatch Student borrowers fight Sallie Mae's 'jobless penalty'Monmouth Daily Review Atlas all 202 news articles »

Loan growth likely to moderate this year The Sun Daily PETALING JAYA (Jan 6, 2012): Housing loan growth continued to expand at a robust pace in December, although the true test of the sector's strength will be in January when tougher lending measures by the banking sector to control ballooning household ...

Bad loans rise at a faster clip Livemint Among the relatively large banks, gross NPAs of at least four banks—ICICI Bank Ltd, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India and UCO Bank—in the December quarter were between 3.82% and 3.33% of their loan books. After setting aside money, ... Banks on sticky wicket as textile sector loans on verge of turning badEconomic Times Banks ask borrowers to cover their personal loans, overdraft facilitiesBusiness Standard Rise in NPA makes PSU banks lag private peersmydigitalfc.com Hindu Business Line all 12 news articles »

PR Web (press release)

Payday loan advocate omits pertinent facts Columbia Daily Tribune What she failed to say is that her group is funded by the payday loan industry, the same group that sent threatening letters to churches across the state. Churches are speaking out in favor of capping the rate because they are all too familiar with the ... Same Day Payday Loan Introduces New “How it Works” ResourcePR Web (press release) all 7 news articles »

Banks to take a hit on US home loans Financial Times The Obama administration, which recently announced the formation of a new state and federal unit to investigate alleged frauds involving home loans and mortgage-backed securities, intends to use the threat of litigation against large US financial ... HUD Secretary Expects “Substantial” Payment of Foreclosure Fraud Settlement ...Firedoglake all 2 news articles »