Investment Calculator

Our investment calculator turns your financial goals into a visual roadmap, showing you exactly how long-term discipline and strategy and lead to increased financial freedom in the future.

Understanding the Variables

To get a better understanding of each input field on this calculator, here's how each variable is used and how they impact your final estimated balance.

Initial Investment

This represents the seeding or starting capital, or the money you have available to invest on day one. 

The metric represents the foundation of every investment, and the larger your seed capital is, the faster compounding interest will work, which significantly increases your total gains over time.

Years of Investment Growth

In the world of investing, time is often more valuable than the amount of money you invest. 

With every additional year you allow your portfolio to grow, the more cycles of compounding interest you can experience, so even a few additional years can sometimes double your final savings.

Estimated Rate of Return

This metric measures the annual percentage of profit you expect your investment to return, as each type of investment has historically different average yearly returns.

For example, high-yield savings or government bonds usually see the lowest annual return rates, while investing in the S&P 500 has a larger average return. 

Compound Frequency

Compounding is what occurs when you add the interest you earn back to your balance, essentially earning interest on your interest. How often you add the interest back impacts the calculation and your overall returns.

Amount of Recurring Investments

Commonly called an annuity payment, this metric represents the amount of money you’re adding to your investment over time. Recurring contributions to your initial investment act as an accelerator, ensuring that your portfolio grows even during market dips.

Recurring Investment Frequency

How often you add recurring investments also comes into the calculation. 

You can choose to contribute monthly with your paycheck, or annually, which is most commonly used for year-end bonuses or tax refunds. More frequent contributions to your initial investment are the single most effective way of building long-term wealth.

Different Types of Investments

To maximize your wealth, you need to choose the right vehicle. Different investments carry different levels of risk and potential rewards, so understanding where your money goes is the first step toward long-term success.

Here are the most common investment types and how they typically perform within our calculator:

Stocks

When you buy a stock, you're buying a piece of a company. If the company grows or pays dividends, your investment value increases.

This is the single best option for long-term growth, as it’s usually the smartest move to hold these investments for 10 or more years, as the average annual returns hover at an average of 7% to 10%.

Mutual Funds & ETFs

If you want your portfolio managed by a professional, and invest in a wider variety of stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds are a good option, as they usually track an index and come with very low fees. 

The risk is lower than with individual stock investments as well, as you have a more balanced portfolio, but annual returns follow the same average pattern.

Bonds

Bonds are essentially loans you provide to a government or corporation in exchange for regular interest payments.

This type of investment is best suited for generating steady income, as they are considered to be low risk, and a safer option than stock, but the typical returns average at around 3% to 5% annually.

Real Estate

Investing in physical land, residential homes, or commercial buildings. You can also invest via REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) if you want the exposure without being a landlord.

This approach carries moderate risk, as real estate is illiquid, and you can’t cash out your arnings instantly, but typical returns are still high, and hover in the 6% to 8% range annually.

CDs & High-Yield Savings

A Certificate of Deposit (CD) or a High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA) keeps your principal secure while earning a small amount of interest.

These two options are best-suited for shorter goals or emergency funds, as they carry the lowest risk possible, but also average about 1% to 4% annually in returns.

 Commodities

This includes gold, silver, oil, and agricultural products. Commodities often move in the opposite direction of the stock market, so they’re a good option when hedging against inflation or periods of economic uncertainty.

The risk here comes from the fact that prices are driven by global supply and demand of the commodity you want to invest in, and average returns usually align with inflation over the long

Comparing Risks, Rewards and Goals

In investing, you rarely get high returns without taking on some risk. 

The table below visualizes the investment types we mentioned above so you can get a simpler and easier representation of the risks, goals and potential returns for each type.