Can investing make you rich? Yes it can. If your investment horizon is long enough and you are willing to put money aside every month, investing can make you rich. Past returns are not a guarantee for future returns, but based on returns we have seen in the past, investing in the stock market can make you rich.
What does “being rich” mean?
What does “being rich” mean to you? How do you define rich? Does it mean having a mortgage paid off and having savings enough to not have to work for the rest of your life? The definition of being rich can be different for everybody.
I would say having a million dollars’ worth of investments and savings can be considered as being rich. So, let’s look at a few examples on how to get to that million dollars and how much effort and time it will take.
How long does it take to get million dollars?
In the chart below, I have gathered a few different scenarios on how long it will take to gather a million dollars. The longer the time frame you are willing to invest, the less money you need to put aside every month. I used an 8% annual return, which is the average inflation-adjusted return in the past.
Time in years | 200/month | 500/month | 1000/month | 2000/month |
Year 1 | 2 400 | 6 000 | 12 000 | 24 000 |
Year 2 | 4 992 | 12 480 | 24 960 | 49 920 |
Year 3 | 7 791 | 19 478 | 38 957 | 77 914 |
Year 4 | 10 815 | 27 037 | 54 073 | 108 147 |
Year 5 | 14 080 | 35 200 | 70 399 | 140 798 |
Year 6 | 17 606 | 44 016 | 88 031 | 176 062 |
Year 7 | 21 415 | 53 537 | 107 074 | 214 147 |
Year 8 | 25 528 | 63 820 | 127 640 | 255 279 |
Year 9 | 29 970 | 74 925 | 149 851 | 299 701 |
Year 10 | 34 768 | 86 919 | 173 839 | 347 677 |
Year 11 | 39 949 | 99 873 | 199 746 | 399 492 |
Year 12 | 45 545 | 113 863 | 227 726 | 455 451 |
Year 13 | 51 589 | 128 972 | 257 944 | 515 887 |
Year 14 | 58 116 | 145 290 | 290 579 | 581 158 |
Year 15 | 65 165 | 162 913 | 325 825 | 651 651 |
Year 16 | 72 778 | 181 946 | 363 891 | 727 783 |
Year 17 | 81 001 | 202 501 | 405 003 | 810 005 |
Year 18 | 89 881 | 224 701 | 449 403 | 898 806 |
Year 19 | 99 471 | 248 678 | 497 355 | 994 710 |
Year 20 | 109 829 | 274 572 | 549 144 | 1 098 287 |
Year 21 | 121 015 | 302 538 | 605 075 | 1 210 150 |
Year 22 | 133 096 | 332 741 | 665 481 | 1 330 962 |
Year 23 | 146 144 | 365 360 | 730 720 | 1 461 439 |
Year 24 | 160 235 | 400 589 | 801 177 | 1 602 354 |
Year 25 | 175 454 | 438 636 | 877 271 | 1 754 543 |
Year 26 | 191 891 | 479 726 | 959 453 | 1 918 906 |
Year 27 | 209 642 | 524 105 | 1 048 209 | 2 096 418 |
Year 28 | 228 813 | 572 033 | 1 144 066 | 2 288 132 |
Year 29 | 249 518 | 623 796 | 1 247 591 | 2 495 182 |
Year 30 | 271 880 | 679 699 | 1 359 399 | 2 718 797 |
Year 31 | 296 030 | 740 075 | 1 480 150 | 2 960 301 |
Year 32 | 322 112 | 805 281 | 1 610 562 | 3 221 125 |
Year 33 | 350 281 | 875 704 | 1 751 407 | 3 502 815 |
Year 34 | 380 704 | 951 760 | 1 903 520 | 3 807 040 |
Year 35 | 413 560 | 1 033 901 | 2 067 802 | 4 135 603 |
As you can see from the chart above, the more you invest monthly, the faster you will reach the milestone of a million dollars. With 200 dollars per month, it would take around 47 years to reach the million-dollar mark. The table was already long enough, so I didn’t put the whole chart there. But anyhow, here are the results in a nutshell:
- 200 dollars per month, 47 years to reach million dollars
- 500 dollars per month, 35 years to reach million dollars
- 1000 dollars per month, 27 years to reach million dollars
- 2000 dollars per month, 20 years to reach million dollars
As you can see, even if 2000 dollars is ten times compares to 200 dollars, the time it takes to reach a million is not even close to ten times as much. This is because with 200 dollars, it takes longer, so compounded interest will have more time to do its magic.
I know that not everybody wants to wait 47 years to get a million dollars, but that can be a good option if you invest for your child, for example. I have a post about how to make your child a millionaire by the time they retire, you can read it here.
The sooner you start the better
Have you heard the saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”? This can be applied to investing. The sooner you start your investing journey, the less money you have to put away monthly. On the other hand, if you put in more money sooner, you will reach the million-dollar mark and future milestones will come much faster as well.
In summary
Investing can make you rich. However, it will take either a lot of time or a lot of monthly contributions. The sooner you start, the less you have to put away monthly to accomplish your goals. Keep in mind that past returns are not a guarantee of future returns.
I have more posts about investing as well. You can read them here.
Also, you might also be interested in a post comparing the differences between active funds and passively managed funds; you can read it here.
This is not investment or financial advice. Past returns are not a guarantee of future returns. Always do your research before risking your hard-earned money.