Starting to Invest in 2024? Here’s How Much You’ll Need to Become a Millionaire in 30 Years

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Investing can make you a millionaire, but you need to be smart about the amount that you put into your brokerage account. Here’s how to hit your target. 

Becoming a millionaire can provide a lot of financial security. And it’s not an unreasonable goal for most people, even though it may feel as if it is. The reality is, if you have a long investing timeline and you make smart investments in your brokerage account, you can eventually end up with seven figures.

If you’re getting started investing this year and you’re hoping to hit your millionaire target in 30 years, here’s how much you’d need to invest on a regular basis to end up hitting your goal.

This is what you’d need to invest to become a millionaire in 30 years time

Many people can expect to earn around a 10% average annual return over the long haul if they make reasonable investments.

In fact, you don’t need to be a skilled investor to do that, as you can put your money into a financial index called the S&P 500 that has consistently produced 10% average annual returns for decades. The S&P 500 tracks the performance of around 500 large U.S. companies, and is a pretty safe investment as long as you leave your money alone for the long term.

Assuming that you can earn this 10% average return over your investing career, if you are getting started investing this year and you want to become a millionaire in 30 years, you would need to invest $506.60 per month.

This amount may seem like a lot, but it may actually be pretty doable for many people. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that median weekly earnings for full-time workers was $1,118 in the third quarter of 2023. With an annual salary of around $58,136.00, the average American could hit the goal of contributing the required $506.60 per month if they were investing a little over 10% of their income. And since many people get employer matching funds if they invest in a 401(k), they wouldn’t even necessarily need to come up with the full $506.60 on their own, as their company could help them out.

Of course, some people earn less than average, and finding $506.60 per month will undoubtedly be harder for them — or perhaps even impossible. But they should still save what they can while working toward increasing income and investing more later in life.

And those who are starting to invest late will need to put aside a larger sum each month in order to become a millionaire if they don’t have 30 years. If you have just 15 years until you want to achieve millionaire status, you’d need to invest $2,622.80 per month. This amount is a lot higher because you aren’t benefiting as much from the long window of compound growth that happens when your investments earn returns that are reinvested and earn returns of their own.

How to make sure you hit your target

If you are serious about wanting to become a millionaire in 30 years and you’re starting to invest in 2024, the best way to make sure you end up with a seven-figure nest egg is to set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your brokerage firm or to have money taken out of your paychecks and put into your 401(k).

You can sign up for a 401(k) right now by asking your employer how to do it. If you have access to this workplace plan, you may be entitled to matching contributions made from your employer as well as tax breaks. And the money you’re contributing can be taken from your pay even before you get a paycheck or direct deposit. If you don’t have a 401(k), on the other hand, it’s pretty easy to set up automatic contributions to an IRA or other retirement account through your bank or broker.

If you have $506.60 transferred into your account every month, invest your money, and leave it alone for 30 years, you may just find yourself a millionaire at that time. So start investing today — and dream of what your millionaire lifestyle will look like.

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