![Little Contributions](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbnUfnuPUdPNUo3r5Gb1KTL6J4r8WH3H5NbsHadpTQ6TD/image.png) Source Before getting into the details, I would make this clear that this was not a click-bait. You have to read this to know this! *_Disclaimer_* : I am not a financial advisor, and your decisions are only your decisions that can not be influenced by anyone including me. Read, Read and Read, and decide for yourselves! The picture above speaks a thousand words alone! I have fallen in love with 1 cent since when I came across this picture. You will be surprised to see the power of compound interest or compound gains. This is compound interest calculator from Bankrate, it put in some numbers for your calculation here You start with 0$, You have 30 years ahead until your retirement, You assume an average of 20% gain on your investment annually (a big assumption of 20% right? let's see if it's big...), And you invest $65 every month, like clock-work (it's $5 more than what I said, I know I'm sorry). # $1,018,959 ![$2 a day, 30 years = $1M at the rate of 20% gains annually](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZUtcASoSvtfKU6RK7vHUM5HSZqjSaR5PJcSCLJa98xhe/image.png) $2 a day, 30 years = $1M at the rate of 20% gains annually I started with an assumption that you will make gains of 20% on your investment somehow every year, and there is a basis to it. There is little work to it! Here is who else is doing it and you do not need to sweat for it! **ETF: SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)** In the last 10 years, the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ETF obtained a 13.31% compound annual return, with a 13.44% standard deviation. In addition to these gains, it granted Dividends with an average of 2.1% in the last 10 years. This makes the gains 15.45% at an average over the last decade alone! ![SPY](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZUtcASoSvtfKU6RK7vHUM5HSZqjSaR5PJcSCLJa98xhe/image.png) SPY ![SPY Dividend Yields History 1994-2020](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWiMNcEEkrj5sLhUMQ471VjQLDm2ZwNikAZvwKvs66ELX/image.png) SPY Dividend Yields History 1994-2020 So, if you just trusted SPY, without worrying about its bad years and red years, and let it make you some money, so > $65/month at the rate of 15% annual average gains with dividends re-invested, over the period of 30 years will only make you $366,064. So, to cover the gap left by our targets of 20% and SPY's 15%, you will have to triple your monthly investment to a little under $180/month to make a million. **What I would do?** If I had $2 to invest every day, I would bet $1 in SPY ETF and another $1 in some growth ETF like ARKK (or ARKG, ARKF, ARKQ, etc.). This gives me 2 eggs, one stable, guaranteed to bring home money no matter what, another one that is betting on innovation and the future. ARKK's performance has been exceptional so far and is expected to make over 30% at an average but, it is volatile and your buck here is in riskier hands! The idea of this post is not about being accurate, but it's telling you that > Small and Consistent efforts will make real difference!

Which trading applications I use? 1. Robinhood: Create account today and get **Free Stocks** as a reward after your first small deposit! 2. WeBull: Create account today and get **2 Free Stocks** as reward after your first small deposit! 3. MerrillEdge 4. Fidelity

![](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/vixmemon/23zS9qixenSkuRMD3mUX1S4PMHFdhqXW5LN2G4XPsm7yC3ey9hbjLstVm2fzjxPdoEdJL.png) **Shoutouts** @crypto.piotr for keeping me in check, and @project.hope for giving me this platform!