Walking across a parking lot last week I spied a penny on the ground. I picked it up. Picking coins up off the ground has been a long-standing habit for me. Money is money, whether it’s a penny, a quarter, or a dollar.
Not everyone feels the same. Friends with me have said everything from “A penny is not worth the effort to stop and bend over.” to “I wonder if a dog just whizzed on that coin?” It doesn’t stop me; I keep picking up coins.
This got me thinking about accumulating money. I just read an article that asked the question:
“Would you rather have $1,000,000 today or a penny doubled every day for 31 days?”
Most would take the million dollars. However, those who understand the law of compounding would take the penny, because in 31 days they would have $10,734,418.24!
Here’s how the calculations go:
Day 2: $.02
Day 3: $.04
Day 4: $.08
Day 5: $.16
Day 6: $.32
Day 7: $.64
Day 8: $1.28
Day 9: $2.56
Day 10: $5.12
Day 11: $10.24
Day 12: $20.48
Day 13: $40.96
Day 14: $81.92
Day 15: $163.84
Day 16: $327.68
Day 17: $655.36
Day 18: $1,310.72
Day 19: $2,621.44
Day 20: $5,242.88
Day 21: $10,485.76
Day 22: $20,971.52
Day 23: $41,943.04
Day 24: $83,886.08
Day 25: $167,772.16
Day 26: $335,544.32
Day 27: $671,088.64
Day 28: $1,342,177.28
Day 29: $2,684,354.56
Day 30: $5,368,709.12
Day 31: $10,737,418.24
To learn more about The Incredible Nature of “Compounding”, click here. Then perhaps you should consider picking up pennies too!
The road is easier together,
Linda Laitala, President
Raven Performance Group