Everyone wants to double their money. Fortunately, there are ways to multiply your money that don’t involve get-rich-quick scams or winning the lottery. These legitimate ways to create wealth do not require massive amounts of income to get started.
While you may not double your money quickly, the rule of 72 shows it is possible with time. The rule of 72 provides an estimate of when your money will double. For example, if you divide 72 by an eight percent rate of return, you see it would take nine years for your money to double.
A higher return on investment will decrease that time. These methods to grow your money are available to everyone.
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How to Multiply Your Money
Do you want to know how to multiply your money? Or, are you looking for a list of passive income ideas that will add money to your bank account?
*Deal of the day: CIT Bank pays 4.65 percent on their Savings Connect accounts. If you can open an account with $100 and electronically deposit $200 each month you will qualify for the rate. All deposits are FDIC insured up to the $250,000 per depositor maximum.
Here are five simple ways you can start growing your money right now.
1. Invest in the Stock Market
When trying to learn how to double your money, investing in the stock market is the best way to increase your wealth over the long-term. The stock market can be risky and you might lose money.
However, you can also make money investing in the stock market. The S&P 500, viewed as a leading stock market index, has had an average annual rate of return of eight percent since 1957.
At that rate, you would double your investment within nine years. What if you don’t have a lot of money to invest or don’t know where to start? You can still invest in the stock market and grow your money.
The key is to start investing immediately. The sooner you start investing, the less money you have to save overall because of compound interest.
Take reaching a net worth of $1 million as an example. Here’s what you need to save each month to reach that goal, starting at age 20.
| Age | Monthly Amount to Hit $1 Million |
|---|---|
| 20 | $319 |
| 25 | $440 |
| 30 | $613 |
| 35 | $864 |
| 40 | $1,240 |
| 45 | $1,831 |
SoFi Invest is a terrific choice if you want to start investing but need help. The platform helps manage your investments for you to ensure you are on target to reach your goals.
SoFi Invest has a $1 minimum balance requirement and has no required fees. If you have an old 401(k) plan or IRA, you can move those to SoFi to receive their assistance.
What About a 401(k) Plan?
Are you new to investing or prefer not to have multiple investing accounts? Your employee-sponsored 401(k) plan is a suitable alternative to investing through a brokerage like SoFi Invest.
Most employers offer a match to your contribution, up to a certain amount. This instantly multiplies your money so more will go into the market and work for you.
Many 401(k) plans have free educational resources to help you learn more about investing. Most plans also include index funds as investment choices.
This lets you track the market without paying burdensome fees in an actively managed fund. Read our guide on how set up your first 401(k) plan if you’re new to this personal finance tool.
2. Invest in Real Estate
Many people believe the stock market is the only way to grow wealth. Thanks to crowdfunding, real estate is a viable wealth building strategy for more people. It also lets you diversify your investing to help you mitigate risk.
You used to need significant amounts of money to invest in real estate. Alternately, you needed to manage a property. Crowdfunding lets you find real estate investments with minimal resources.
It also allows you to avoid managing the property yourself. You can now invest in real estate with as little as $10 through platforms like Fundrise. Similar to the stock market, investing in real estate can be risky.
However, it offers plenty of lucrative opportunities.
| Benefits | Logo |
|---|---|
| Fundrise - start investing in real estate $10 to startThis popular crowdfunding real estate platform makes it possible to invest in real estate with as little as $10!
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Returns, net of fees, were an annual average of 10.63 percent as of 2021. A platform like Fundrise helps you find properties that fit within your risk profile. These can include:
- Apartments
- Commercial property
- New home construction
Fundrise allows you to invest in properties without dealing with physical management. Retirement or non-retirement accounts are available for users. Read our Fundrise review to learn more about the platform.
Roofstock is another good option to invest in real estate. The platform focuses on turnkey properties to rent. No minimum balance is required to invest with Roofstock.
You must have 20 percent to put down and can invest with an IRA.
3. Open a Savings Account
Savings accounts are the classic way to multiply your money. While doubling your money with a savings account will take years, they are a reliable way to grow your money without effort.
Interest rates on savings accounts used to be significantly higher in past years. Before the Great Recession, they were nearing five percent. Now, it’s hard to find anything above one percent.
CIT Bank is an excellent choice for savings. The CIT Bank money market pays 1.55 percent and only requires a minimum balance of $100.
The account operates like a savings account. It is FDIC insured up to $250,000 and charges $0 in fees. You can also use the account to make withdrawals and pay bills.
If you have more cash to save, the bank has better paying products. Savings Connect is one option that pays 4.65 percent. You must open an account with $100 and commit to depositing $200 a month to qualify.
If you don’t to commit to depositing $200 a month, you can earn a rate of 5.05 percent in their Platinum Savings product.
It has the same $100 opening requirement, but you must have a daily account balance of $5,000 to qualify. Your balance is verified at the end of each day. If it goes below $5,000, the rate dips to 0.25 percent.
Read our CIT Bank review to learn more.
| Benefits | Logo |
|---|---|
| CIT Bank - start your emergency fund $100 minimum deposit requirementOpen a high yield savings account or money market with $100!
|
*Related: If you want more savings options, check out Raisin.com. You can deposit money in several financial institutions and manage everything through one account.
4. Invest in a Business
Investing in a business is no longer just for the super wealthy. You can multiply your money by investing it in a local brick-and-mortar business.
Mainvestis a crowdfunding platform, much like Fundrise, that allows individuals to invest in businesses local to your area, or nationwide if you prefer.
Potential opportunities include:
- Breweries
- Cinemas
- Food trucks
- Restaurants
- Retail
You only need $100 to open an account and start investing through Mainvest. This is a terrific option if you have little money to invest or you want to diversify your investments.
Investors do not need to be accredited to open an account. You need to be at least 18 years old and have a bank account to start. And, you can invest through a retirement or non-retirement account.
Mainvest pays out revenue quarterly portions of revenue and there are zero fees. The company claims potential returns of ten to 25 percent on your investments.
The opportunity is not for people looking for a short-term investment. If you’re ok holding onto the investment for several years, it can be a good diversification opportunity.
Read Mainvest review to learn more.
5. Pay Off Debt
Paying off debt is a legitimate way to multiply your money. People often debate paying off debt vs. investing. It’s an age-old question as to which is more important.
The answer aside, killing debt is an overlooked way to multiply your money. Paying off debt helps you create wealth since debt is one part of the net worth equation.
When you pay off debt, you save money that would have gone towards paying interest. That money can then be used in other ways. Debt, especially high-interest consumer debt, is restrictive.
It will keep you from creating various streams of mailbox money that are vital to accumulating wealth. If you have credit card debt, consider consolidating with SoFi.
The lender offers rates as low as 5.99 percent and has no hidden fees. This could let you slash your rate, pay off your debt quicker, and have more funds to invest.
| Benefits | Logo |
|---|---|
| Sofi - Fixed Personal Loans with Autopay Cost: 8.99% to 25.81% APR*No fees required. Secure a low rate on loans and kill debt.
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As you begin to pay off debt, try to pair it with spending less. When you near debt freedom and have more money to invest, you can take advantage of the stock market or real estate.
This can help you double your money in eight or nine years. Investing while paying off debt is a personal decision. You can do both simultaneously, but it will lengthen the time it takes to become debt free.
Do what’s best for you and everything will work itself out in time.
Bottom Line
Wealth creation is something most people aspire to, but believe it is difficult or impossible. Thanks to an abundance of tools and resources, it has never been easier to find legit ways to amass riches.
As you pursue ways to double your money, remember the rule of 72. Divide 72 by the rate of return and you will see how long it will take you to succeed.
While success may not come overnight, it will happen faster than you think if you are committed.
What are some of your favorite ways to grow your wealth? How do you diversify your investments?
SoFi Invest refers to the three investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below.
1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“Sofi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.
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Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform. Information related to lending products contained herein should not be construed as an offer or pre-qualification for any loan product offered by SoFi Bank, N.A.
John Schmoll
Website | + posts
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
