You should invest as much as you can afford with quality of life and other financial goals in mind. Many experts recommend that you save 15-20% of your income each month. You should also consider investing for the long term, as the stock market does tend to fluctuate greatly.
Starting your investment journey with $500 doesn't mean you're limited to penny stocks or high-risk investments. In fact, today's financial markets offer more accessible options than ever for small investors, thanks to fractional shares, commission-free trading, and low-minimum investment products.
Your expected rate of return, based on the fund's historical performance, is 12%* per annum. Your total invested amount at the end of 10 years will be Rs. 60,000 and the potential corpus may amount to Rs. 1,15 lakh.
Actually, $400 is a significant amount of savings per month, amounting to almost $5000 per year. At least in the early years I would suggest keeping it simple by investing in an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that tracks the 500 companies in the S&P 500 Index, which are generally the largest and best-known companies.
Investing $500 a month can lead to significant long-term growth, thanks to the power of compounding returns. Whether you are just starting out or adding to an existing portfolio, consistently investing $500 each month can help you build substantial savings for future goals, like retirement or a down payment on a house.
Invest in Dividend Stocks
Last but certainly not least, a stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income. However, at an example 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000, which is a substantial upfront investment.
Thus, it will take approximately 8.17 years.
Given an average 10% rate of return on the S&P 500, you need to save about $1,400 per month in order to save up $1 million over 20 years. That's a lot of money, but the good news is that changing the variables even a little bit can make a big difference.
If you simply match the historic stock market returns over the past 90 years -- returns that averaged 10% per year -- investing $500 per month will net you over $1 million in 30 years.
If you invest $50 per week, that's the equivalent of $200 per month, or approximately $2,400 per year. Over a 30-year period, that would result in more than $72,000 in savings. It's a good chunk of savings, but it isn't a life-changing amount.
If you put $1,000 into investments every month for 30 years, you can probably anticipate having more than $1 million by the end, assuming a 6% annual rate of return and few surprises.
While this figure can vary based on factors such as location, family size, and lifestyle preferences, a common range for a good monthly salary is between $6,000 and $8,333 for individuals.
$3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year. $36,000 / 6% dividend yield = $600,000. On the other hand, if you're more risk-averse and prefer a portfolio yielding 2%, you'd need to invest $1.8 million to reach the $3,000 per month target: $3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year.
The table below shows the present value (PV) of $5,000 in 20 years for interest rates from 2% to 30%. As you will see, the future value of $5,000 over 20 years can range from $7,429.74 to $950,248.19.
Let's say you want to become a millionaire in five years. If you're starting from scratch, online millionaire calculators (which return a variety of results given the same inputs) estimate that you'll need to save anywhere from $13,000 to $15,500 a month and invest it wisely enough to earn an average of 10% a year.
One of those tools is known as the Rule 72. For example, let's say you have saved $50,000 and your 401(k) holdings historically has a rate of return of 8%. 72 divided by 8 equals 9 years until your investment is estimated to double to $100,000.
The money can add up: If you kept the funds in a retirement account for over 30 years and earned that 6% average return, for example, your $10,000 would grow to more than $57,000.
Let's consider some examples: Investor A can only invest $1,000 every month and has nothing in savings. If he earns a 10% annual rate of return (compounded quarterly) in a portfolio created by a robo advisor, Investor A will need 22 years and seven months to become a millionaire.
Is making $10,000 a month good? Yes, most people would consider $10,000 a month to be a good income. If you earn $10,000 a month, your gross income will be $120,000 a year. For the average person, that's more than enough to live on, and you'll likely be able to build a healthy savings with that income as well.