Home Finance $10 vs $100 Doubled Monthly For A Decade

$10 vs $100 Doubled Monthly For A Decade

One effective way to grow your money in the long term is through consistently saving and investing. In today’s article, we will explain how much you can accumulate after 10 years if you double your money every month. The goal of this article is to demonstrate the power of compounding and consistency, regardless of your initial investment amount.

We will provide you with a detailed breakdown, demonstrating the returns achievable after 10 years of doubling either $10 or $100. By the end of the 120th month, the investor who starts with $10 will accumulate over $6.65E+36, whereas the one who initiated with $100 will have 6.65E+37, which is 10 times more, just like their initial investment.

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To illustrate where these figures come from, we will begin by sharing the table below:

Monthly investment doubled for 10 ten years ($10 vs $100)

MonthAmount 1 in USD (from $10)Amount 2 in USD (from $100)
110100
220200
340400
480800
51601,600
63203,200
76406,400
81,28012,800
9256025,600
105,12051,200
1110,240102,400
1220,480204,800
1340,960409,600
1481,920819,200
15163,8401,638,400
16327,6803,276,800
17655,3606,553,600
181,310,72013,107,200
192,621,44026,214,400
205,242,88052,428,800
2110,485,760104,857,600
2220,971,520209,715,200
2341,943,040419,430,400
2483,886,080838,860,800
25167,772,1601,677,721,600
26335,544,3203,355,443,200
27671,088,6406,710,886,400
281,342,177,2801.3422E+10
292,684,354,5602.6844E+10
305,368,709,1205.3687E+10
451.76E+141.76E+15
605.76E+185.76E+19
751.89E+231.89E+24
906.19E+276.19E+28
1052.03E+322.03E+33
1206.65E+366.65E+37

Explanation

Before getting into the detailed explanation, it is important to note that the table above intentionally omits certain months to make it more compact and easier to peruse. Nevertheless, all months from month 1 to month 120 were included in the calculations.

To ensure easy comprehension for all, we will now provide a graphical representation of the data above before we continue.

Based on the table and graph above, it is evident that the difference in returns between the two investments ($10 vs. $100) is not particularly substantial in the initial months. Let’s begin with the $10 investment: In the early months, the investment doubled from $10 to $20, then to $40, and so forth. After approximately 10 months, the investment had grown to around $5,120. This represents significant growth from the initial $10, although the full impact of exponential growth may not be entirely apparent at this stage.

The second investor, who started with $100, also saw a similar trend. In the initial months, their investment also doubled to $200, then to $400, experiencing a faster growth rate. After roughly 10 months, their investment had already reached approximately $51,200. This substantial growth clearly illustrates the advantage of commencing with a larger initial amount.

As time passed, both investors witnessed exponential growth in their investments. However, it became increasingly evident that the investor who began with $100 consistently outpaced the one who started with $10 with their investment ten times more every month. This disparity in initial investment became even more pronounced in the later months.

At the end of the 120 months, the investor who initiated with $10 had an investment of approximately $6.65 x 10^36, which is a huge amount when you consider what they started with. On the other hand, the investor who commenced with $100 had an investment of approximately $6.65 x 10^37, signifying a significantly larger sum. These amounts are too big to comprehend.

Overall, the long-term impact of starting with a higher initial investment is undeniably significant. Notably, the investor who began with $100 consistently maintained an investment ten times larger than the one who started with $10 throughout the entire period, with this difference growing more pronounced as the figures escalated. Either way, both investors amassed staggering sums that were mind-boggling by the end of the 120 months.

In compounding, it’s better to start as early as possible, and evidently, also as much as possible.

Key takeaways

Here are the crucial lessons we can learn from this experiment;

  • The Power of Compounding: The experiment illustrates the remarkable power of compounding. Even with relatively modest monthly returns, you will notice huge returns the longer you sustain your investment. This highlights the importance of making regular investments and allowing them to grow over extended periods.
  • The Significance of the Initial Amount: The choice of the initial investment amount can have a huge impact on the final outcome, especially after investing for a couple of years. Starting with a higher initial sum provides a significant advantage in terms of overall returns. Therefore, individuals should consider saving or investing larger sums whenever possible to benefit from this advantage.
  • Long-Term Perspective: The experiment reinforces the value of a long-term perspective in investing. The compounding effect becomes increasingly noticeable over extended periods. Investors who are patient and committed to their financial goals tend to reap greater rewards. As Warren Buffett says: I knew I would become rich, it just takes time.
  • Starting Early: The earlier one starts investing, the more time their investments have to grow. The experiment shows that even with a small initial investment, starting early can lead to substantial gains in the long run.

Conclusion

In summary, this experiment effectively demonstrates the potential of exponential growth, emphasizing the importance of patience when it comes to investing. While the monthly doubling of income presented in our case study may appear somewhat theoretical, it conveys a compelling message regarding the significance of long-term financial planning, steadfast saving, and consistent investment.

The primary objective of walking you through this case study was to illustrate the power of consistent income multiplication over a period of ten years or more. Whether you choose to make an investment or operate a business that can incrementally increase your income by a factor like 1.2 each month, the numbers you could attain by the 120th month will be truly staggering.

Additionally, it is crucial to recognize that the best time to start saving and investing is today. As evidenced by the case study above, if the investor who initially had $100 had delayed their investment by just five months, the $10 investor would have already surpassed them. This clearly shows the importance of starting as soon as you can, irrespective of your current financial situation.