What Happens If You Invest $250 a Month for 30 Years?

The Basic Math: How Much Could $250/Month Grow?

Let’s start simple. If you invest $250 every month for 30 years, that’s $90,000 in total contributions (yep, just multiply it out: $250 × 12 months × 30 years).

But wait, that’s just the raw cash you put in. What about returns? If you average a 7% annual return—a common estimate for long-term stock market performance—your investment balloons to around $303,000. (And yep, that's compound interest doing its magic.)

Now if you’re a bit more aggressive and average 10% annual return—which historically isn’t impossible—you’re looking at around $566,000. That’s over half a mil. From just 250 bucks a month.

Honestly, kinda wild when you think about it.

Compound Interest: The Real Hero Behind the Scenes

Why Starting Early Is a Game-Changer

Here’s the thing: compound interest rewards time more than money. The earlier you start, the less you have to contribute to end up with the same results. Wait 10 years before starting? You might need to invest twice as much to catch up. Not even kidding.

I remember chatting with a buddy who started investing at 40 instead of 25. Same monthly amount. After doing the math, he looked at me like he’d just eaten a lemon. "Bro, I’ve been sleeping on this for 15 years?!"

Reinvesting Dividends – Don't Skip It

Another piece folks forget: reinvesting dividends. If your investments pay dividends and you just pocket them, you're missing out. Reinvesting them adds fuel to the compounding fire. It’s like free money... making you more money. Kind of beautiful, right?

Where Should You Put the $250?

Stocks, ETFs, Index Funds?

So yeah, you can’t just stash it in a sock drawer. Most people go with index funds or ETFs—they’re low-cost and diversified. Think S&P 500. Solid long-term growth, minimal effort.

Or maybe you’re more into dividend stocks—that’s cool too, just know they require more research. And if you’re super risk-averse? Bonds are safer... but your returns will probably be lower. Can’t win ‘em all.

What About a Roth IRA?

Honestly, if you qualify, a Roth IRA is a great place to park that $250/month. Your money grows tax-free and you don’t pay taxes when you withdraw it in retirement. That’s... actually kind of a no-brainer for a lot of folks.

(Unless you're in a high tax bracket now and expect to be lower later, in which case maybe a traditional IRA's better. But hey, that's a different article.)

Real Life vs. Projections: Things Can Get Messy

Life Happens, And That’s Okay

We all love nice round projections. But real life? Yeah... it's rarely that neat. You might miss a few months. Or the market might tank right before retirement. Or you decide to take a sabbatical and pause contributions for a bit.

That's not failure—it’s life. The key is staying consistent over the long term. If you fall off, just get back on. You don't need to be perfect to build wealth.

Inflation’s the Silent Sneak

Ah, yeah. Inflation. The thing that makes your money worth less over time. If your investment returns 7% annually, but inflation runs at 2%, your real return is 5%. Still good—but don’t ignore it.

In other words, $566k in 30 years won’t buy what $566k buys today. But it’ll still be a heck of a lot better than zero.

Final Thoughts: Small Steps, Big Wins

Honestly? $250 doesn’t feel like much when you look at it month-to-month. That’s like a few dinners out, a couple subscriptions, maybe some impulse Amazon buys.

But over time? It can literally change your life.

And sure, there’s risk. Nothing’s guaranteed. Markets go up, and they go down (and then back up again). But if you stay the course, stay invested, and keep feeding that $250 monthly, you're setting up your future self for something really solid.

And hey, they’ll probably thank you for it.

Is 165 cm normal for a 15 year old?

The predicted height for a female, based on your parents heights, is 155 to 165cm. Most 15 year old girls are nearly done growing. I was too. It's a very normal height for a girl.

Is 160 cm too tall for a 12 year old?

How Tall Should a 12 Year Old Be? We can only speak to national average heights here in North America, whereby, a 12 year old girl would be between 137 cm to 162 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/3 feet). A 12 year old boy should be between 137 cm to 160 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/4 feet).

How tall is a average 15 year old?

Average Height to Weight for Teenage Boys - 13 to 20 Years

How to get taller at 18?

Staying physically active is even more essential from childhood to grow and improve overall health. But taking it up even in adulthood can help you add a few inches to your height. Strength-building exercises, yoga, jumping rope, and biking all can help to increase your flexibility and grow a few inches taller.

Is 5.7 a good height for a 15 year old boy?

Generally speaking, the average height for 15 year olds girls is 62.9 inches (or 159.7 cm). On the other hand, teen boys at the age of 15 have a much higher average height, which is 67.0 inches (or 170.1 cm).

Can you grow between 16 and 18?

Most girls stop growing taller by age 14 or 15. However, after their early teenage growth spurt, boys continue gaining height at a gradual pace until around 18. Note that some kids will stop growing earlier and others may keep growing a year or two more.

Can you grow 1 cm after 17?

Even with a healthy diet, most people's height won't increase after age 18 to 20. The graph below shows the rate of growth from birth to age 20. As you can see, the growth lines fall to zero between ages 18 and 20 ( 7 , 8 ). The reason why your height stops increasing is your bones, specifically your growth plates.