Rule Of 72

Once upon a time an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) started working abroad. At the age of 29 he had already saved a total of P 100,000.00 (Philippine peso)

In order to preserve his P 100,000.00, he decided to place it in the bank, since this is the only vehicle of investment that he knew about. The bank manager was delighted that the OFW opened an account with them. He even recommended that the money be placed in a time deposit account enabling the OFW to earn more than the ordinary savings account.

As suggested by the bank manager, he placed his money in the time deposit account and didn’t touch it until he reached the age of 65. Since he is retiring from his job, he went back to the bank to withdraw the P 100,000.00 in his time deposit account. To his amazement his P100,000.00 had already become P 400,000.00. Because he wanted to enjoy his life, he withdrew all his money and lived happily ever after.

Do you think this is a “live happily ever after”? Has this OFW “wisely” handled his money? Are you sure he is maximizing the full potential of his money or has somebody become more richer because of his ignorance ?

To fully understand this, take note of the Rule of 72. In order to know how many years it takes for your money to double you only need to follow this rule which is simply stated as follows: 72 / interest = No. of years it takes for your money to double

In the case of this Filipino OFW, every 18 years his money will double. 72 divided 4 % per annum = 18 years. So if he deposited his P 100,000.00 at age 29, his money will become P 200,000.00 at age 47. Add another 18 years then he reaches the age of 65. This time his money becomes P 400,000.00.

Now that the P 100,000.00 is in the bank’s hand, what do they do with it ? Well they basically invest it in other vehicles of investments which gives them a higher interest rate such as mutual funds, the stock market, the money market, government bonds, corporate bonds etc. They even use it to loan it back to the depositors at a much more higher interest rate. But let’s just say that all of the bank’s investing activities gave a return of 12 % per annum. Using the rule of 72, it can be determined that the same amount of money will double every 6 years. (computed as follows: 72 divided by 12 % interest = 6 years)

After 36 years of waiting, the OFW claimed his P 100,000.00. You wouldn’t be surprised why the bank manager willingly and gladly gave him back the P 100,000.00 plus the interest of P 300,000 amounting to a total of P 400,000.00. No sweat, they already made more or less a total of P 6,400,000.00 from the OFW’s P 100,000.00 deposit. Now you tell me if that isn’t hi-way robbery !

You want to be wealthy and a better steward of your money? Think like the bank!!! Use the Rule of 72 wisely ! Make it work for you !

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he blogs about several interesting topics such as investments, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing