Find out how much your savings could grow over time. Just plug in your numbers, choose your compounding frequency and let our Compound Interest Calculator take care of the math.
Your Results
Estimated Savings Value
In 0 years, your savings could be worth:
$0
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Initial Balance
$ 0
0% of Total
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Contributions
$ 0
0% of Total
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Growth
$ 0
0% of Total
What if I...
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Saved an extra $100 per month.
Adds $100 a month in contributions, but creates
$0
in additional growth
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Gave up daily coffee purchases.
Adds $128 a month in contributions, but creates
$0
in additional growth
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Gave up weekly restaurant visits.
Adds $200 a month in contributions, but creates
$0
in additional growth
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Common Questions and Answers
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What Is a Compound Interest Calculator?
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A compound interest calculator is a handy tool that can help you estimate how much your savings or investments can grow over time. While we won’t delve into the complexities of the compound interest formula, here’s a super basic example of how it works:
- Imagine you invested $100 into a mutual fund with a 10% average annual rate of return.
- At the end of the first year, you’d have your original $100 plus the $10 extra dollars you’d earned.
- The next year, instead of earning 10% of $100, you’d earn 10% of $110.
The bottom line is that compounding happens when you earn interest on both your original investment and the interest it’s already earned. When compounded continuously over the years, a little money can turn into a lot more money.
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When Is It Time to Start Investing?
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As a general guideline, we suggest you start investing when you’ve paid off all debt (except for your mortgage) and have 3–6 months of living expenses saved up in an emergency fund.
At that point, we recommend using tax-advantaged retirement accounts to invest 15% of your annual household income. The historic average annual return of the stock market over a period of about 30 years is around 10–12%. Savings accounts tend to offer a much lower return—some even less than 1% a year.
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How Do I Get Started With Investing?
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If you have access to an employer-sponsored retirement account, investing can be as simple as setting up automatic contributions. You can choose to have a portion of each check automatically invested in the funds of your choice.
Or you can open an individual retirement account like a Roth IRA on the website of any major brokerage. As a general rule, we recommend working with a financial advisor, who will be able to help you select and set up the right account for your needs.
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How Do I Learn More About Investing?
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Investing may sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! Want to learn what you need to know to invest with confidence—all in plain, jargon-free English? Check out a free copy of Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Investing.
This content provides general guidelines about investing topics. Your situation may be unique. If you have questions, connect with a SmartVestor Pro.
Other Helpful Resources and Tools
SmartVestor™ is an advertising and referral service for investment professionals operated by The Lampo Group, LLC d/b/a Ramsey Solutions (“Ramsey Solutions”). When you provide your contact information through the SmartVestor site, Ramsey Solutions will introduce you to up to five (5) investment professionals (“Pros”) that cover your geographic area. Each Pro has entered into an agreement with Ramsey Solutions under which the Pro pays Ramsey Solutions a combination of fees, including a flat monthly membership fee and a flat monthly territory fee to advertise the Pro’s services through SmartVestor and to receive client referrals from interested consumers who are located in the Pro’s geographic area. Each Pro may also, if applicable, pay Ramsey Solutions a one-time training fee.
The fees paid by the Pros to Ramsey Solutions are paid irrespective of whether you become a client of a Pro and are not passed along to you. However, you should understand that all of the Pros that are available through SmartVestor pay Ramsey Solutions fees to participate in the program. Further, the amount of compensation each Pro pays to Ramsey Solutions will vary based on certain factors, including whether the Pros choose to advertise in local or national markets. Ramsey Solutions has a financial incentive to present certain Pros that offer their services on a national basis (“National Pros”) more often than other National Pros that pay lower fees.
It is up to you to interview each Pro and decide whether you want to hire them. If you decide to hire a Pro, you will enter into an agreement directly with that Pro to provide you with investment services. Ramsey Solutions is not affiliated with the Pros and neither Ramsey Solutions nor any of its representatives are authorized to provide investment advice on behalf of a Pro or to act for or bind a Pro. Ramsey Solutions introduces you to Pros that cover your geographic area based on your zip code. Neither Ramsey Solutions nor its affiliates provide investment advice or recommendations as to the selection or retention of any Pro, nor does Ramsey Solutions evaluate whether any particular Pro is appropriate for you based on your investment objectives, financial situation, investment needs or other individual circumstances.
No investment advisory agreement with a Pro will become effective until accepted by that Pro. Ramsey Solutions does not warrant any services of any SmartVestor Pro and makes no claim or promise of any result or success by retaining a Pro. Your use of SmartVestor, including the decision to retain the services of a Pro, is at your sole discretion and risk. Any services rendered by a Pro are solely that of the Pro. The contact links provided connect to third-party websites. Ramsey Solutions and its affiliates are not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information contained on third-party websites. Each Pro has signed a Code of Conduct under which they have agreed to certain general investment principles, such as eliminating debt and investing for the longer-term, and, if applicable, have completed Ramsey Pro Training. However, Ramsey Solutions does not monitor or control the investment services the Pros provide.