When Will I Be a Millionaire?
A wealth projection calculator that gives you a concrete date.
This wealth projection calculator tells you exactly when you’ll be a millionaire — or hit any other target you set. Enter what you have now, what you save each month, the annual return you expect, and a target. The math is straightforward monthly compounding; the surprise is usually how much later (or earlier) the answer lands than people expect.
Numbers throughout assume real returns after inflation, so “$1M” means $1M in today’s dollars — not the inflation-puffed equivalent 30 years from now. The default 7% return is the long-run real average for diversified US equities; you can dial it down for bonds or cash, or up if you’re feeling generous (with a healthy dose of skepticism).
One honest caveat: markets are volatile, and a single 30-year projection is a smooth line through a real path that won’t be smooth. The sensitivity table beneath the chart shows how the year-to-target moves when you change your savings rate or return assumption by a single point — useful for stress-testing the number before you take it too seriously.
Defaults to your profile’s income × savings rate. Override to plan a different pace.
7% is a common assumption for diversified stock portfolios after inflation. Use lower for bonds or cash, higher only with skepticism.
Frequently asked
How does compound interest actually work?
Each period, your balance earns returns, and then those returns earn returns the next period. The “interest on interest” effect starts small and accelerates over time — most of the growth in a 30-year projection happens in the last decade, not the first. That’s why starting early matters far more than picking the perfect investment.
Is 7% a realistic annual return?
7% is the rough long-term real (after-inflation) average for a diversified US stock portfolio. The historical figure since 1928 sits around 7% real, but with massive year-to-year variance — single years of −30% or +30% are routine. Use 7% as a planning baseline, not a guarantee.
Should I use real or nominal returns?
This calculator uses real returns and real dollars throughout, so a $1M target means $1M of today’s purchasing power. If you’d rather think in nominal terms, you can use a higher return assumption (say 10%) and treat your target as a nominal future-dollar number — but mixing the two leads to confusing results.
Does this account for taxes?
No, and that’s a deliberate scope choice. Most retirement savings happens in tax-advantaged accounts (401(k), IRA, Roth) where the projection roughly holds. For taxable brokerage accounts, you’d shave roughly 0.5–1.5% off the annual return to approximate the drag from dividends and capital gains taxes — and you can do that here by lowering the return input.
What’s the rule of 72?
Divide 72 by your annual return to estimate how long it takes money to double. At 7% returns, money doubles every ~10.3 years; at 10%, every ~7.2 years. It’s an approximation that’s shockingly accurate up to about 15% returns — useful for quick sanity checks against this calculator.
What if I’m starting late?
Late starters have less compounding runway, so the lever shifts from “returns” to “savings rate.” A 50-year-old aiming for $1M in 15 years needs to save aggressively — the math may push you toward a higher savings rate, a lower target, or both. The sensitivity table above this FAQ shows exactly how each lever moves the date.