The compounding race

Ria starts at 15, Kabir at 25. Who ends up with more?

Ria invests ₹1,000 a month from 15 to 25, then stops (₹1.2 lakh in total). Kabir invests ₹1,000 a month from 25 to 60 (₹4.2 lakh).

Yearly return10%

Ria (starts at 15)Kabir (starts at 25)

Ria at 60

₹67.42 lakh

Kabir at 60

₹38.28 lakh

Ria wins, with less than a third of the money invested. Starting early beats investing more.