This Chart Can Help You Become a Millionaire, No Matter What You Earn
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It won't be easy to get there.
But financial blogger Lyn Alden has come up with a really simple chart showing how much you need to invest each month, depending on a given rate of return, for you to become a millionaire after 25 years.
The figures are inflation-adjusted.
As you can see, you're going to have to get a bit lucky on your investing rate of return to hit seven figures (which are shaded green) if you don't have much cash lying around in the first place. For instance, if you only have $750 a month to invest, you'll have to bank on an unusually high rate of return of 14%.
However, if you have a bit more spare change handy — $3,000 or so each month — you'll only need a 4% annual rate of return.
In any event, Alden does a great job painting a clear picture of how to get to $1 million.
“Wealth means different things to different people, and for a lot of people, it can seem bewildering or out of reach,” Alden writes. “But you can use a framework like the one described here to map out what your target wealth level is, and how to get there. When you break a big process like wealth accumulation into smaller variables, you can start to see realistic paths forward.”