The Perfect Gentleman Issue 5 | Page 29

Financial Gentleman Then the next time you earn interest, you not only earn it on your original savings amount, but also on the interest you have previously accrued – in other words, your interest is compounded. Let's look at an example. You have £1,000 you now which to save. You have found an account paying 2.00% interest with no deductions. At the end of year one you receive £20 in interest (as £1,000 x 2% = £20). This £20 is added to your initial £1,000 savings, making a new total of £1,020. At the end of year two you've earned £20.40 (as £1,020 x 2% = £20.40) – you've not only been paid interest on your original £1,000, but also on the £20 interest you earned in year one. The £20.40 is then added to your £1,020 to make a new total of £1,040.40. The cycle then repeats again and again, so that by the end of year 10, your savings have grown to £1,218.98. If interest is paid separately from your savings account you would earn £20 annually in interest, on your initial £1,000, ideally this is not the best option for your short terms savings. The best interest rate option is where you can have compounded interest you would earn £218.98 over a 10-year period, with the interest paid away you would only earn £200.00. 29