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Compound Interest
Compound interest is interest calculated on both the original money and the interest already earned. Over time this creates exponential growth: the longer money compounds, the faster it grows in absolute terms.
Why It Matters
Starting to invest at 18 instead of 28 can roughly double what you end up with, purely because of compounding.
In India
₹10,000 invested at 10% a year grows to about ₹26,000 in 10 years, ₹67,000 in 20 years and ₹1.74 lakh in 30 years. Most of the gain arrives in the last decade.