Assuming long-term market returns stay more or less the same, the Rule of 72 tells us that you should be able to double your money every 7.2 years. So, after 7.2 years have passed, you'll have $200,000; after 14.4 years, $400,000; after 21.6 years, $800,000; and after 28.8 years, $1.6 million.
At 10%, you could double your initial investment every seven years (72 divided by 10). In a less-risky investment such as bonds, which have averaged a return of about 5% to 6% over the same time period, you could expect to double your money in about 12 years (72 divided by 6).
When does money double every seven years? To use the Rule of 72 to figure out when your money will double itself, all you need to know is the annual rate of expected return. If this is 10%, then you'll divide 72 by 10 (the expected rate of return) to get 7.2 years.
How long has it historically taken a stock investment to double? NYU business professor Aswath Damodaran has done the math. According to his math, since 1949 S&P 500 investments have doubled ten times, or an average of about seven years each time.
The value of $10,000 in 20 years depends on factors like inflation and investment returns. Assuming an average annual inflation rate of 2%, the future value of $10,000 would be approximately $6,730 in today's dollars. However, investing an average annual return of 7% could grow to around $38,697.
In order to hit your goal of $1 million in 10 years, SmartAsset's savings calculator estimates that you would need to save around $7,900 per month. This is if you're just putting your money into a high-yield savings account with an average annual percentage yield (APY) of 1.10%.
Investing in the Stock Market
So, if you invested your $1,000,000, it would generate $100,000 in interest in the first year ($1,000,000 X 0.10 = $100,000). If you let it compound annually for 10 years, you would generate $1,593,742 in returns for a total of over $2,1593,742.
Keep saving and investing no matter what
If you simply contribute $8,000 in new money to your account each year and leave your money invested for the long-term, your account would be worth nearly $1 million in 20 years. That's a 10X from its original value with no complex investment strategies at all.
For example, the Rule of 72 states that $1 invested at an annual fixed interest rate of 10% would take 7.2 years ((72/10) = 7.2) to grow to $2. In reality, a 10% investment will take 7.3 years to double (1.107.3 = 2). The Rule of 72 is reasonably accurate for low rates of return.
Key Points. Compound earnings happen when your money begins to make money on previous gains. A one-time investment can more than 10x in value in 25 years averaging 10% annual returns. Reinvesting your dividend payouts until retirement can add to the effects of compounding.
A 14.4% year-over-year interest rate on your cash over 5 years is challenging to achieve on a cash-on-cash basis. However, when including appreciation and asset growth into that equation, a double-up or 14.4% year over year over 5 years is definitely attainable.
The Rule of 72 is a calculation that estimates the number of years it takes to double your money at a specified rate of return. If, for example, your account earns 4 percent, divide 72 by 4 to get the number of years it will take for your money to double. In this case, 18 years.
∴ The money will quadruple itself in 21 years.
Equities also typically offer appealing long term expected returns. On a 7% expected return, the doubling time falls to a decade. These are not forecasts, but the rule of 72 is a handy way to take a financial measure, like a rate of interest, and translate it into something which many people will find more tangible.
The average annualized total return for the S&P 500 index over the past 90 years is 9.8%. Adjusted for inflation, it still comes to an annual return of around 7% to 8%. If you earn 7%, your money will double in a little over 10 years.
According to conventional wisdom, an annual ROI of approximately 7% or greater is considered a good ROI for an investment in stocks. This is also about the average annual return of the S&P 500, accounting for inflation.
Stocks. For most people focused on long-term goals, stocks should be a good place to invest. You can get exposure to a basket of stocks through ETFs and mutual funds, or you can choose individual companies for your portfolio.
The general rule is that the younger you are, the more risk you're able to tolerate. The older you get, though, means you must cut back on the amount of risk in your portfolio. The common rule of asset allocation by age is that you should hold a percentage of stocks that is equal to 100 minus your age.
In this regard, as one of the basic rules of financial planning, the asset allocation or 10-5-3 rule states that long-term annual average returns on stocks is likely to be 10%, the return rate of bonds is 5% and cash, as well as liquid cash-like investments, is 3%.
The math to $1 million
Based on an investment of $25,000 today, it'd take a return of 13.08% per year to transform into $1 million in 30 years. If you require a shorter time to grow your investments, you'll need a higher return to arrive at $1 million sooner.
Even with above-average gains of 15% per year, it would still take more than 30 years for a $10,000 investment to grow to $1 million.
How long will $2 million last? The short answer is, most likely it will last you comfortably for the rest of your life. The longer answer is, even with no growth of any kind this nest egg will last an average household around 35 years.
$10 Million Is A Top One Percent Net Worth
10 million dollars is a lot of millions. If you have a 10 million dollar net worth or higher, you have a top one percent net worth in America. Therefore, if you can't retire off 10 million dollars comfortably, you've got some serious problems!
Yes, you can retire at 50 with five million dollars. At age 50, an annuity will provide a guaranteed income of $268,750 annually, starting immediately for the rest of the insured's lifetime.