Investment Return Calculator
Most real investing involves both a starting balance and ongoing monthly contributions. This calculator projects how both grow together over time at a chosen rate of return.
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How It Works
The projection adds two future values together: your initial deposit compounding on its own, and a monthly contribution stream compounding as it's added (a standard annuity calculation). Both use your expected monthly return rate, derived from the annual rate you enter. This is a projection based on a constant assumed rate — real markets fluctuate year to year, so treat the output as a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
Worked Example
Starting with $3,000 and contributing $250/month at an 8% expected annual return, 15 years later the projected balance is roughly $96,400. Of that, you'd have personally contributed about $48,000 — the remaining $48,400 or so comes entirely from investment growth, meaning growth roughly equals contributions over that stretch. Extend the same scenario to 25 years instead of 15, and the projected balance jumps to around $260,000, even though total contributions only rise to $78,000 — a clear illustration of why the number of years invested tends to matter more than the size of any single contribution.