The $100 Monthly Shortcut to Retirement Millionaire Status

Dave Ramsey just dropped some math that broke the internet: drop $100/month into index funds for 40 years, and you’re looking at ~$1.18M in your retirement account. Sounds too good to be true? Here’s the catch: he’s banking on a 12% annual return.

Real talk though: The S&P 500’s long-term average sits closer to 10%. Even at that rate, $100/month still gets you to $1.05M—just takes 45 years instead of 40.

The Starting Age Matters (A LOT)

If you started in your 20s? You’re golden with $100/month. But life doesn’t always work that way:

• Start at 30: Need $264/month to hit $1M by 65
• Start at 40: Bump that to ~$750/month
• Start at 50: Oof. You’re looking at $2,425/month for just 15 years to reach $1M

The kicker? Waiting until 50 means you’re socking away roughly 24x more money than if you’d started at 20. Compound interest is basically magic, but only if you give it time.

The Reality Check

Yeah, the stock market averages 10% annually over decades. But in any given year? You might see +20% booms or -20% crashes. That volatility matters for your timeline and peace of mind.

Bottom line: The lesson isn’t “$100 will definitely make you rich”—it’s “start ASAP.” Even small contributions pack a punch when you’ve got 30+ years of compounding working for you. Time beats money.