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The equation to determine the future value of an amount of month that is earning interest is FV=PV*(1+r)^t.

FV = Future Value

PV = Present Value

r = interest rate per period

t = number of periods

If you divide both side by PV you get FV/PV=(1+r)^t.

The rule of 72 is used to calculate how long it takes money to double in value. Therefore FV/PV =2

2=(1+r)^t

Take the natural log of both sides and you get...

ln(2) = ln(1+r)^t which equals ln(2) = t*ln (1+r)

For small values of r (remember this is a percentage) ln(1+r) ~ r

r*t = ln(2)

r*t = 0.693. So technically is should be the rule of 69.3. However, 72 is evenly divisible by far more numbers, and since this is for doing ball park numbers in your head, it is close enough. However feel free to use 70 as well if it works better (multiples of 5 or 7).

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Q: Where does the rule of 72 come from?
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Rule of seventy two is used to ascertain the period by which an investment would grow by 100%. 72 divided by rate of interest would provide the approximate period by which the investment would become double. As an example, if the rate of interest is 6% per month, the investment would be doubled in ( 72/6) 12 months. Rule of 72 thus is an important tool to know the investment horizon.


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The rule of 72 is a quick and very accurate method of determining how long it takes for money to double at a specified rate of interest, compounded annually. For example, using the rule of 72 with a compounded interest rate of 6% it would take 12 years to double your money (72 divided by 6). The precise amount of time it takes to double your money at 6% based on the actual computation of compounded interest is 11.9 years. The rule of 72 works very well unless the rate of interest exceeds 20% at which point the error rate starts to deviate substantially from the actual answer. The rule of 72 can also be used to figure out what rate of interest you need to double your money in a specified number of years. For example, if you want to double your money in 5 years, divide 72 by 5 and the interest rate needed is 14.4%.


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