The Rule of 72 (with calculator) (2024)

Have you always wanted to be able to do compound interest problems in your head?Perhaps not... but it's a very useful skill to have because it gives you a lightning fast benchmark to determine how good (or not so good) a potential investment is likely to be.

The rule says that to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate, you just divide the interest rate into 72.For example, if you want to know how long it will take to double your money at eight percent interest, divide 8 into 72 and get 9 years.

Y = 72 / r and r = 72 / Y

where Y and r are the years and interest rate, respectively.

Compound Interest Curve

Suppose you invest $100 at a compound interest rate of 10%.The rule of 72 tells you that your money will double every seven years, approximately:

YearsBalance
Now$100
7$200(doubles every
14$400 seven years)
21$800

If you graph these points, you start to see the familiar compound interest curve:

The Rule of 72 (with calculator) (1)

Practice using the Rule of 72

It's good to practice with the rule of 72 to get an intuitive feeling for the way compound interest works.So...

Why Stop at a Double?

There's nothing sacred about doubling your money.You can also get a simple estimate for other growth factors, as this calculator shows:

Why Does the Rule of 72 Work?

If you want to know more, see this explanation of why the rule of 72 works.(Brace yourself, because it's slightly geeked out.)

The Rule of 72 (with calculator) (2024)

FAQs

What is the Rule of 72 calculator? ›

It's an easy way to calculate just how long it's going to take for your money to double. Just take the number 72 and divide it by the interest rate you hope to earn. That number gives you the approximate number of years it will take for your investment to double.

What is the Rule of 72 exact formula? ›

Using the rule to estimate compounding periods

For instance, if you were to invest $100 with compounding interest at a rate of 9% per annum, the rule of 72 gives 72/9 = 8 years required for the investment to be worth $200; an exact calculation gives ln(2)/ln(1+0.09) = 8.0432 years.

How to calculate 72? ›

The Rule of 72 is a simple way to determine how long an investment will take to double given a fixed annual rate of interest. Dividing 72 by the annual rate of return gives investors a rough estimate of how many years it will take for the initial investment to duplicate itself.

What is the Rule of 72 in calculus? ›

To calculate the time period an investment will double, divide the integer 72 by the expected rate of return. The formula relies on a single average rate over the life of the investment.

What is the rule of 70 calculator? ›

The rule of 70 calculates the years it takes for an investment to double in value. It is calculated by dividing the number 70 by the investment's growth rate. The calculation is commonly used to compare investments with different annual interest rates.

How long will it take $1000 to double at 6% interest? ›

So, if the interest rate is 6%, you would divide 72 by 6 to get 12. This means that the investment will take about 12 years to double with a 6% fixed annual interest rate.

What is the formula for the rule of 70 that calculates? ›

The rule of 70 is used to determine the number of years it takes for a variable to double by dividing the number 70 by the variable's growth rate. The rule of 70 is generally used to determine how long it would take for an investment to double given the annual rate of return.

Why does the Rule of 72 work? ›

Using the rule of 72 allows you to have a solid idea of when your investment would double just from the investment rate. Very conveniently, the number 72 divides cleanly into 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 12, allowing for a quick and simple division problem instead of your usual compound interest problem.

How to calculate Rule of 72 in Excel? ›

Left click and hold on the bottom right corner of cell B2 and drag the cell down to cell B6. Now, use the rule of 72 to calculate the approximate number of years by entering "=72/A2" into cell C2, "=72/A3" into cell C3, "=72/A4" into cell C4, "=72/A5" into cell C5 and "=72/A6" into cell C6.

What is the method of 72? ›

72 has a total of 12 factors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 72. There is a trick to calculate the total number of factors of a number. For example, 72 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 = 23 × 32. We get the prime factorizations of 72 as 23 × 32.

What equations make 72? ›

36 x 2 = 72, 24 x 3 = 72, 18 x 4 = 72, 12 x 6 = 72, 9 x 8 = 72. Since 2 and 3 are primary numbers, they have no further factors. 1 is of course a factor. So, we can multiply 1, 2 and 3 to get 72.

Does 72 go into 2? ›

Hence, 72 is divisible by 2. 72 divided by 2 gives 36.

How is Rule 72 calculator? ›

The Rule of 72 is a way to estimate how long it will take for an investment to double at a given interest rate, assuming a fixed annual rate of interest. You simply take 72 and divide it by the interest rate number. So, if the interest rate is 6%, you would divide 72 by 6 to get 12.

What is math 72? ›

MATH 72 - (MA) Analytic Geometry and Calculus II. Description: Fall, Spring. Exponential, logarithmic, and inverse trigonometric functions, techniques of integration, improper integrals, introduction to differential equations, parametric equations, polar coordinates, infinite sequences and series.

What is the mathematical proof of the Rule of 72? ›

The Rule of 72 is a calculation that estimates the number of years it takes to double your money at a specified rate of return. If, for example, your account earns 4 percent, divide 72 by 4 to get the number of years it will take for your money to double. In this case, 18 years.

How long will it take to increase a $2200 investment to $10,000 if the interest rate is 6.5 percent? ›

Final answer:

It will take approximately 15.27 years to increase the $2,200 investment to $10,000 at an annual interest rate of 6.5%.

Does the Rule of 72 really work? ›

The Rule of 72 works best in the range of 5 to 12 percent, but it's still an approximation. To calculate based on a lower interest rate, like 2 percent, drop the 72 to 71; to calculate based on a higher interest rate, add one to 72 for every three percentage point increase.

How much time will it take to double my money calculator? ›

Calculator Use

Divide 72 by the interest rate to see how long it will take to double your money on an investment. Alternatively you can calculate what interest rate you need to double your investment within a certain time period.

What is rule 72 and 69? ›

The Rule of 72 states that by dividing 72 by the annual interest rate, you can estimate the number of years required for an investment to double. ● The Rule of 69.3 is a more accurate formula for higher interest rates and is calculated by dividing 69.3 by the interest rate.

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