How Long It Takes to Reach $1 Million in Investments - Bravely Go (2024)

FAQs

How Long It Takes to Reach $1 Million in Investments - Bravely Go? ›

If you invest $10,000 a year and get 7% returns it will take you 31 years to reach $1 million invested. That breaks down to $833.33 a month. This is the most common timeline for people who will reach millionaire status: the slow burn over a few decades of work.

$1 Million the Easy Way

Putting aside someone's $40,000 in take-home pay every year—and earning that 10% return as described above—will get you to millionaire status in about 15 years. Halve those savings and you're still only looking at 20 years. It will take more work for sure, but it's a lot faster than 51.

To go from $500,000 in assets to $1 million requires a 100% return—a level of performance very hard to achieve in less than six years. To go from $1 million to $2 million likewise requires 100% growth, but the next million after that requires only 50% growth (and then 33% and so on).

The time it takes to become a millionaire depends on how much you save and the return you get on your money. If you invest $1,000 per month and get an 8% annual return, you'll be a millionaire in 25.5 years. The key to being a millionaire is to start investing right away and to be consistent about it.

On average, stocks have given an annualized return of around 10%. At that rate, your money doubles every 7.2 years. Let's say you start with $10,000. After a 40 year career, that turns into at least $320K from doubling 5 times.

It's definitely possible, but there are several factors to consider—including cost of living, the taxes you'll owe on your withdrawals, and how you want to live in retirement—when thinking about how much money you'll need to retire in the future.

If you keep saving, you can get there even faster. If you invest just $500 per month into the fund on top of the initial $100,000, you'll get there in less than 20 years on average. Adding $1,000 per month will get you to $1 million within 17 years. There are a lot of great S&P 500 index funds.

Bottom Line. With $500,000 on hand, several investment options open up to you. Just a few of the strongest include a safe, but typically profitable, index fund, investing in or being an entrepreneur, buying real estate or seeking out hedge funds and private equity.

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

Passive Growth Over 25 Years

For example, a 10% average annual rate of return could transform $100,000 into $1 million in approximately 25 years, while an 8% return might require around 30 years.

What age do most millionaires become millionaires? ›

In their 50s, many Americans attain the mythical status of millionaire, their household assets worth at least $1 million more than their liabilities.

A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

If you can keep your money in the market for 10, 20 or even 30 years, your potential to build wealth is tremendous. Think about it this way: If you put $10,000 in the market and earn 10% per year, taking out your profits each year, you'll have a net profit of $30,000 after 30 years, or three times your money.

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

Saving a million dollars in five years requires an aggressive savings plan. Suppose you're starting from scratch and have no savings. You'd need to invest around $13,000 per month to save a million dollars in five years, assuming a 7% annual rate of return and 3% inflation rate.