The Rule of 72Doubling time, worked out in your head, for growth or for inflation.MoneyDivide 72 by the annual percentage rate to get theyears it takes for an amount to double.years to double ≈ 72 ÷ rateAt 6% a year12 years72 ÷ 6At 9% a year8 years72 ÷ 93% inflationprices double in 24 yearsIt works on costs too.THE COMMON MISTAKEUsing it at very high ratesIt is accurate roughly between 4% and 15%It is an approximation of a logarithm. Outside that band the error grows quickly.It cuts both ways: 20% credit card interest doubles a debt in under fouryears if nothing is repaid.The Rule of 72learnposters.com
The Rule of 72 — printable money wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the The Rule of 72 poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

It cuts both ways: 20% credit card interest doubles a debt in under four years if nothing is repaid.

Questions about the The Rule of 72 poster

What’s on the The Rule of 72 poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Divide 72 by the annual percentage rate to get the years it takes for an amount to do…; years to double ≈ 72 ÷ rate; At 6% a year = 12 years; At 9% a year = 8 years; 3% inflation = prices double in 24 years; Common mistake: Using it at very high rates → It is accurate roughly between 4% and 15%. It cuts both ways: 20% credit card interest doubles a debt in under four years if nothing is repaid.
Who is the The Rule of 72 poster for?
The Rule of 72 belongs to the Money section rather than to a school year, because money is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning growth can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the The Rule of 72 poster?
Use it to sanity-check any claim about returns before reaching for a calculator. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so The Rule of 72 belongs on the wall where that money work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with The Rule of 72?
Turning Savings into Income, APR & AER and Compound Interest sit alongside The Rule of 72 in the Money section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Turning Savings into IncomeAPR & AERCompound Interest
Is the The Rule of 72 poster free to download and print?
Yes. The Rule of 72 downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Money section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the The Rule of 72 poster print at?
The Rule of 72 is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of The Rule of 72 loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside The Rule of 72 on the same wall.

Browse every Money poster, or start from the full catalogue.