There is a story about a king who asked a wise man to name his reward. The man asked for one grain of rice on the first square of a chessboard, two on the second, four on the third — doubling each time. The king laughed at the modest request. By the 64th square, the total would have been 18 quintillion grains of rice — enough to fill the earth several times over.
This is compounding. And it is the most powerful force in your financial life.
Simple Interest: ₹1,00,000 at 12% for 10 years = ₹2,20,000
Compound Interest: ₹1,00,000 at 12% for 10 years = ₹3,10,585
The difference of ₹90,585 is pure compounding — your earnings earning their own earnings.
A simple mental shortcut: divide 72 by your annual return rate to find out how many years it takes to double your money. At 12% returns, your money doubles every 6 years. At 6%, every 12 years. At 24% (high-return years), every 3 years.
Riya starts investing ₹5,000/month at age 25. Rohit starts investing ₹10,000/month at age 35 — twice as much. By age 60, Riya has ₹3.5 crores, Rohit has ₹1.9 crores. Starting early — even with less money — wins every time.
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