Want to learn how to invest? Here are three expert tricks and the rule of 72

September 19, 2026 — 5:00am

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The last federal budget is tilting Aussies en masse out of property investing and towards the sharemarket. So, are there shortcuts when it comes to investing?

Often when you start investing – or if you started a while ago – it can be difficult to determine how you’re going. Or, indeed, where you are going. You know – OK, hope – that you’ll make good returns. And history shows that, over the long term, you can. But choosing your investments and then judging your progress can be difficult.

Here are some maths hacks experts recommend to do just that.

You probably already know about the magical phenomenon that is compounding returns. Albert Einstein, in fact, called it the eighth wonder of the world. It is, put simply, earning interest on interest, or investment returns on investment returns. Compounding adds past gains back into your pool of money, so the total base grows larger.

Ordinarily you need a calculator to figure out how fast compounding might work for you, except for this first, neat trick.

The longer you hold investments, and the higher risk you can afford to take with them, the more – theoretically – you get in returns over time.

By simply dividing the number 72 by your rate of investment return, you will discover how many years it will take for your money to double. At a realistic rate of return over time, let’s say 8 per cent, you could double your money in nine years.

Equally, divide 72 by the number of........

© Brisbane Times