How Much Does A Dollar Doubled Every Day For A Month End Up Being?
Last Updated on June 19, 2023
A dollar doubled every day for the 30 days that make up an average month would amount to $107,374,182,400. This is much more than the $1,000,000 offered in the other option (see below).
Assuming a genie just appeared before you and asked you to choose between these two options — giving you a dollar today and doubling it every day for 30 days or giving you $1 million today — which one would you choose? The truth is, most people would choose to have $1,000,000 today. This raises the question: how much does a dollar doubled every day for a month end up being?
You start with $1 and then $2, $4, $8, $16…. By the end of the 30th day, you end up with $107,374,182,400! This is the power of compounding in action, and in this case, the rate is 100%, leading to staggering returns.
| Day | USD |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 16 |
| 6 | 32 |
| 7 | 64 |
| 8 | 128 |
| 9 | 256 |
| 10 | 512 |
| 11 | 1024 |
| 12 | 2048 |
| 13 | 4096 |
| 14 | 8192 |
| 15 | 16384 |
| 16 | 32768 |
| 17 | 65536 |
| 18 | 131072 |
| 19 | 262144 |
| 20 | 524288 |
| 21 | 1048576 |
| 22 | 2097152 |
| 23 | 4194304 |
| 24 | 8388608 |
| 25 | 16777216 |
| 26 | 33554432 |
| 27 | 67108864 |
| 28 | 134217728 |
| 29 | 268435456 |
| 30 | 536870912 |
| 31 | 1073741824 |
This is how it looks on a chart with linear scale:
One thing to notice from the table and chart is that the early days were modest. By the 20th day, the money wasn’t even close to $10,000. If you didn’t understand the principle of compounding, you would have been disappointed for not choosing the $1 million option. But over the last 10 days, the money multiplied by more than 1000 times.
Related reading:
- How Much Does A Penny Doubled Every Day For A Month End Up Being?
- Compounding – The Magic Of A Long-Term Mindset And Delayed Gratification
Patience pays when it comes to growing wealth, and time is one of the most important factors in compounding money. The growth at later stages is always astronomical.
Mathematically, you can calculate the compounding formula:
A = P [1 + (rate)] ^ time
In this case:
P = $1 Rate = 100% Time = 29 days (because day 1 produced P, so the compounding starts from day 2)
A = $1 [1 + (1)] ^29
A = $1 [2] ^29
A = $107,374,182,400
The main factors in compounding are the rate and the time. If the rate wasn’t 100% (doubling) or the compounding period and duration weren’t daily for 30 days, the money may not compound to this amount.
In conclusion, the power of compounding is incredible, and investing early can lead to significant wealth growth over time.