Investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and CDs, are a good way to use cash. Real estate can be a rewarding option, with a potential for generous profits. For the risk-averse, CDs and high-yielding savings accounts are viable options.
Competitive savings account rates
The best widely available high-yield savings accounts currently earn an APY of around 4.85 percent. An amount of $100,000 in an account earning this rate will earn around $4,850 after a year, for a total of $104,850. Online banks are where you're likely to find such high rates.
Invest $400 per month for 20 years
If you're earning a 10% average annual return and investing $400 per month, you'd be able to go from $100,000 to $1 million in savings in just over 20 years. Again, if your actual average returns are higher or lower than 10% per year, that will affect your timeline.
Put it in a bank account - If you think you'll be spending money, then you could just keep it in your regular bank account. Invest it - By investing your money you could allow it to potentially grow. Most investments, such as shares and funds, offer potential returns on your money over a longer term.
Consider investing in rental properties or real estate investment trusts (REIT). The real estate market is a fertile setting for a $100k investment to yield $1 million. And it's possible for this to happen between 5 to 10 years. You can achieve this if you continue to add new properties to your portfolio.
$500,000 is a big inheritance. It could have a significant impact on a person's financial situation, depending on how it is managed and utilized. As you can see here, there are many complex, moving parts involving several financial disciplines.
If you want to keep it safe, consider high-yield savings, CDs, treasury bonds, and money market funds. While you won't get rich from these, they carry a lower risk of loss than other investment options. If you have average risk tolerance, consider blue chip stocks, index funds, and peer-to-peer lending.
What is 5% interest on $100,000 in a savings account? If you have $100,000 in a savings account that pays five percent interest, you will earn $5,000 in interest each year.
On a $100,000 mortgage at a 3% APR, your total interest costs would range from $24,304.70 to $51,777.45, depending on the loan term you choose.
What will 100k be worth in 20 years? If the nominal annual interest rate is 4%, a beginning balance of $100,000 will be worth $219,112.31 after twenty years if compounded annually.
It takes 7.84 years to save up your first $100K when earning 7% per year, but if you earn 10% per year, it only changes it by about half a year, 7.27 years. Interest rate matters a little more with the more money you have invested, when you're earning later $100Ks.
For example, if you put $10,000 into a savings account with a 4% annual yield, compounded daily, you'd earn $408 in interest the first year, $425 the second year, an extra $442 the third year and so on. After 10 years of compounding, you would have earned a total of $4,918 in interest.
If you had a monthly rate of 5% and you'd like to calculate the interest for one year, your total interest would be $10,000 × 0.05 × 12 = $6,000. The total loan repayment required would be $10,000 + $6,000 = $16,000.
A 2019 study published by Wealth-X found that around 68% of those with a net worth of $30 million or more made it themselves. Further, a second study by Fidelity Investments found that 88% of all millionaires are self-made, meaning they did not inherit their wealth.
During the past 20 years, Australian inheritances have added up to almost $1.4 trillion — about $67 billion a year. The average inheritance is about $125,000 and goes to a recipient about 50 years old, who is usually well-established in their career.
In 2019, for example, the wealthiest families reported average inheritances of $719,000, while the poorest families (those who received any inheritance at all) reported an average inheritance of $9,700.
When you're inheriting either cash or stocks, one isn't better or worse than the other. Each offers benefits. Having money in hand upon a family member's death means the ability to use it immediately for any purpose. However, there's also the risk of quickly running out of the entire inheritance.
But if you're looking to make your inheritance work harder for you, paying off some of your mortgage with it and investing the balance might be something you could consider. Interest rates may work for savers at the moment, but with inflation still in double figures the real value of any cash will decrease over time.
But all the same, 100k in retirement can last up to 30 years if you stick to the general 4% thumb rule of financial planning during retirement. This rule suggests that retirees 65 and older should withdraw at most 4% of their savings during the first year of retirement.
Assuming you will need $40,000 per year to cover your basic living expenses, your $1 million would last for 25 years if there was no inflation. However, if inflation averaged 3% per year, your $1 million would only last for 20 years.
If someone then gave you a billion dollars and you spent $1,000 each day, you would be spending for about 2,740 years before you went broke.