Here's How Investing $50 per Week Could Be Enough for You to Retire a Millionaire | The Motley Fool (2024)

If you were to save $50 each week, that would result in an annual savings of $2,600. Over the span of 30 years, that's $78,000. That's not something you can retire on. But if you invested those savings into a safe growth stock, you could potentially have $1 million by the time you retire. Thanks to compounding and dividends, you can turn a $50-per-week investment into a nest egg that can help you live comfortably in your retirement years.

Growth stocks that pay dividends can help maximize your returns

The S&P 500 averages a long-run return of approximately 10% per year. But it's possible to outperform that, especially when you factor in dividend income, which can help pad your profits. A couple of solid stocks that have generated consistent revenue growth over the years while also paying dividends are health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group(UNH -1.25%) and top drugmaker Eli Lilly(LLY 2.85%). In the past 10 years, their total returns (including dividends) have dwarfed the broad index.

Here's How Investing $50 per Week Could Be Enough for You to Retire a Millionaire | The Motley Fool (1)

Data by YCharts.

There are never guarantees about how these businesses will do in the future. However, UnitedHealth is a staple in the healthcare industry, and with a growing population of seniors, demand for its services isn't likely to drop off anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Eli Lilly's business could have a prized blockbuster in Mounjaro, a treatment for diabetes that is proving to be incredibly effective in helping people lose weight as well.

Both of these stocks could remain market-beating investments for the foreseeable future. So staying the course and investing $50 weekly into either of these stocks could play a significant part in a long-term retirement plan.

The path to $1 million

To get to $1 million by investing just $50 each week, you would need to generate an annual growth rate of a little over 13% per year, provided that you have 30 investing years left. Here's how your portfolio balance would look each year at that level of investment and growth:


Chart by author.

This model assumes you reinvest the dividend income you receive back into your investment. It also doesn't factor in commission costs. If those expenses are significant, you may be better off investing every month instead of every week.

Although shares of UnitedHealth and Eli Lilly trade at more than $300, you can acquire fractional shares and accumulate them over time.

Investors shouldn't get discouraged by a lack of savings

Inflation can make it incredibly difficult to save money and invest in the stock market right now. But getting into the habit of trying to save whatever you can on a periodic basis, whether weekly, monthly or even yearly, could pave the way for a better future in the years ahead.

Eli Lilly and UnitedHealth are just two examples of safe growth stocks you can invest in, but there is no shortage of quality options out there for investors to consider. The key is to focus on investments with strong fundamentals that ensure your portfolio isn't at risk and where there's a reasonable expectation that their underlying businesses will continue growing in the future.

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Here's How Investing $50 per Week Could Be Enough for You to Retire a Millionaire | The Motley Fool (2024)

FAQs

Here's How Investing $50 per Week Could Be Enough for You to Retire a Millionaire | The Motley Fool? ›

If you were to save $50 each week, that would result in an annual savings of $2,600. Over the span of 30 years, that's $78,000. That's not something you can retire on. But if you invested those savings into a safe growth stock, you could potentially have $1 million by the time you retire.

Is it worth investing $50 a week? ›

This chart shows you how, over a period of 30 years, investing $50 every week could grow your portfolio to more than $1 million. Chart by author. Assuming a 15% annual growth rate (on average), a $50 per-week investment could grow to a value of more than $1.5 million after 30 years.

How much money do you need to make $50,000 a year off dividends? ›

This broader mix of stocks offers higher payouts and greater diversification than what you'll get with the Invesco QQQ Trust. And if you've got a large portfolio totaling more than $1.1 million, your dividend income could come in around $50,000 per year.

How much is $50 a week for 30 years? ›

If you invest $50 every week, that's the equivalent of setting aside $2,600 per year. And if you do that over the course of 30 years, then you will have contributed $78,000. But the real power is in the compounding, and the continued growth of your portfolio each year. You don't need to swing for the fences, either.

How much do I need to invest to make $1 million in 5 years? ›

Saving a million dollars in five years requires an aggressive savings plan. Suppose you're starting from scratch and have no savings. You'd need to invest around $13,000 per month to save a million dollars in five years, assuming a 7% annual rate of return and 3% inflation rate.

Can you survive on $50 dollars a week? ›

If you haven't already been shopping for yourself and don't know where to begin, try a weekly budget of $50. This is half of what many frugal families with children spend, so it should be high enough for a single person to eat nutritiously even if you don't make every single meal from scratch.

What happens if you save $50 a week for 20 years? ›

Long-term investments, like stocks, have more potential to grow your money. Power of compounding: Over years, your regular $50 can grow significantly. For instance, in 20 years at a 7% return rate, it could become over $97,000.

How much dividends to make $1,000 a month? ›

In a market that generates a 2% annual yield, you would need to invest $600,000 up front in order to reliably generate $12,000 per year (or $1,000 per month) in dividend payments. How Can You Make $1,000 Per Month In Dividends?

How much money is needed to live off dividends? ›

If you are considering a dividend-focused strategy, you should carefully assess your income needs and risk tolerance. For example, if you require an income of 100,000 per year and were looking at a dividend yield of 10%, you would need to invest 1,000,000.

How much to make $500 a month in dividends? ›

How much do you have to invest to get $500 in dividends each and every month? It all depends on your portfolio's dividend yield. With a 10% yield and monthly payout schedule, you can get to $500 a month with only $60,000 invested. That is, $6,000 per year paid on a monthly basis.

How much money is $50 a week? ›

$50 weekly is how much per year? If you make $50 per week, your Yearly salary would be $2,600.

What happens if you save $100 dollars a month for 40 years? ›

According to Ramsey's tweet, investing $100 per month for 40 years gives you an account value of $1,176,000. Ramsey's assumptions include a 12% annual rate of return, which some critics have labeled as optimistic given that the long-term average annual return of the S&P 500 index is closer to 10%.

How much is $25 dollars a week for 40 years? ›

If you invest $25 per week, you'll end up saving $1,300 every year. Over a decade, you'll stash away $13,000. Over a 40-year time frame, the sum adds up to $52,000. Here's the catch: over those periods, your contributions will also be earning interest.

Can I live off interest on a million dollars? ›

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

How long will it take to turn 500k into $1 million? ›

If invested with an average annual return of 7%, it would take around 15 years to turn 500k into $1 million.

How long to become a millionaire investing $1,000 a month? ›

If you invest $1,000 per month, you'll have $1 million in 25.5 years.
Monthly contributionTime to reach $1 million with an 8% annual return
$50033.3 years
$1,00025.5 years
$2,50016.3 years
$5,00010.6 years
1 more row
Nov 20, 2023

How much money should I invest per week? ›

Investing 15% of your income is generally a good rule of thumb to meet your long-term goals. Even if you can't afford to invest that much today, you can still start investing with what you can afford. Your investment amount may fluctuate as your cash flow changes, but staying consistent can pay off in the long run.

Is it worth investing $20 a week? ›

The 40-Year Legacy: Building Wealth over a Lifetime

Imagine looking back after 40 years to find that your $20 a week has grown to more than $262,000. This is the power of long-term investing. It's not about making quick wins; it's about setting yourself up for a future where financial stress is a distant memory.

How much is $50 dollars a day for a week? ›

If you make $50 per day, your Weekly salary would be $250.

How much will I have if I save $100 a week for a year? ›

The first thing we need to know is how much $100 per week works out to on an annualized basis. There are 52 weeks in a year. That means that, after a full year of saving, $100 per week adds up to $5,200.

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