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The Concept of Time Is
Money
Time-value-of-money is the simple idea that
money grow over time because it earns interest. And
because interest earned in one period can earn more in
the next, your money will not grow in a straight line.
It will grow exponentially!
We call this exponential growth compound
interest. Compound interest so inspired Albert
Einstein that once said it was the greatest discovery
of the 20th century. In a way, he wasn't kidding. The
effect of compound interest is impressive.
To see the impact of compounding, look at
these two examples:
Example 1
If you compound $1,000 for 20 years at 5% per
year, your money will grow to $2,653. If you compound
the same amount over 40 years, you will end up with
not 5.3 times, but 7 times your original investment
(the exact amount is $7,040). That's exponential
growth in action!
Example 2
Suppose you compound $1,000
for 40 years at
a higher rate of return of, say, 10%. Then, at the end
of that period, your wealth will grow to an
astonishing $45,259, the result of saving over a long
time at a high rate of return.
As you can see, in addition to time, the
compounding effect becomes stronger if you are
able to invest your money at higher rate of interest.
The bottom line
Compound interest is a wonderful friend to
those who develop the saving habit early in their
lives. But if you delay, it will constantly remind you
of the wealth that you could have had.
By Dr. Fong Wai Mun & Dr. Chng Lui
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