Could you become a millionaire? Yes, probably. The trick
is figuring out just how to get from where you are now to
that point.
Several factors will influence how you'll get there:
Let's see how these factors can work for you, supposing
you're 40 years old with a $50,000 nest egg:
Amount Invested Per
Year
Average Rate of Return
Years to $1 Million
Age at $1 Million
$3,000
8%
32
72
$5,000
8%
29
69
$10,000
8%
24
64
$3,000
10%
27
67
$5,000
10%
25
65
$10,000
10%
21
61
$3,000
12%
23
63
$5,000
12%
21
61
$10,000
12%
18
58
These reasonable inputs would let you achieve
millionairehood within about 20 to 30 years, depending on how
quickly your money grows, and how much you manage to save and
invest.
You might already know that the stock market's longtime
average return is about 10% per year. But remember, that's a
verylong-term average -- stocks could average 8%,
12%, or something else entirely during the 20, 30, or 40
years that you invest. And that's not the only complication
the market could toss your way.
Before you start seeing dollar signs ...
As we've seen over the past year or two, even stocks
considered the safest blue chips can have widely differing
performances over short or long stretches of time. Check out
how some familiar names have fared over the past two
decades:
Company
20-Year Average Annual Return
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK)
9%
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
14%
American Express
9%
Disney (NYSE: DIS)
6%
Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW)
23% Continued... |