When I first started investing 10 years ago, two questions I often asked my financial advisors were (1) what the heck is an investment? and (2) if I invest, how much money can I make? After getting many ambiguous and confusing answers, I learned an Investment is simply an asset (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.), something that you buy in hopes that it becomes more valuable over time. You make money from an investment by selling it at a price higher than what you initially buy it for. There are 3 main factors when it comes to investing: the money you put in, the investment growth rate, and how long you plan to keep it. Before we can predict how much money you can make from investing, let's throw in a few assumptions:
Note: This calculator is geared towards beginners! If you need to input more variables, check out Retirement Calculator or Compound Interest Calculator!
With these assumptions out of the way, after plugging in these 3 variables to the calculator below, you will find out how much your investment will grow.
If you invest $5,500.00 a year in a fund that yields 10% per year, after 20 years, that fund is worth
$315,012.50
That is $110,000.00 of your contribution and $205,012.50 investment returns.
Table displays the year by year performance of your investment.
Year | Contribution | Investment Returns | End Balance |
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