How Long Will It Take To Double Your Money?

Have you ever wondered how long it will take to double the value of your investments at your current rate of return? Wonder no more, because I’ve thrown together the below chart.

The chart really illustrates the power of compounding investment returns and how achieving a higher annual rate of return can significantly reduce the time it takes to double your money. Although it is usually unrealistic to expect to achieve an annual rate of return greater than 20% a year, I thought I’d add annual returns above that mark just to show the impact on the time it takes to double an investment value at those return levels.

Personally, I have achieved annual returns around the 7% level which means I will double my investment value approximately every 10 years. Even though 10 years doesn’t should to shabby, one thing to keep in mind is that this doesn’t mean I am doubling my investment value in “real” terms, only in nominal terms. If you factored in inflation the numbers of years to double your money in real terms would be higher.

So, how long will it take you to double your money?