How $300/Month in This Unstoppable Vanguard ETF Could Turn Into $1M by Retirement

Want to turn pocket change into a retirement jackpot? This Vanguard ETF might be your golden ticket—if you can stomach the ride.

The math is simple: $300 monthly, compounded over decades, could hit seven figures. No magic, just market momentum.

Why this ETF? Low fees, broad exposure, and a track record that laughs at volatility. Perfect for set-it-and-forget-it investors who prefer index funds over stock-picking roulette.

Of course, Wall Street will sell you a hundred fancier solutions—each with juicier fees for them. But sometimes boring wins the race.

Just remember: past performance is a teaser, not a contract. That million-dollar projection? It assumes markets keep climbing like they have since 2009. If they don’t, well… enjoy those ramen retirement plans.

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Invest in a top growth fund each month

Investing regularly each month is a good way to build up a habit. The key is to make it simple. Monitoring the market and trying to find the latest hot stocks to buy is a surefire way to make the process a lot more time-consuming and complicated. To ensure it's easy to stick to your plan, simplicity is crucial.

This is where having a place to put money into each month is important. But even if you loveand believe it's destined to go higher, investing everything in the same stock won't diversify your portfolio. A safer approach is to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will give you exposure to dozens and even hundreds of stocks. You can still benefit from the market's long-term growth, but you won't have to manually pick stocks.

A good ETF to consider is the(VOOG -1.85%). It has a low expense ratio of 0.07% and tracks the best growth stocks within the. The broad index already includes the leading 500 companies on the U.S. markets, and with this Vanguard ETF, you're getting a narrower selection of growth stocks, making it an even more attractive option for those who believe that top growth stocks will do well over the long term. In five years, the Vanguard fund has generated total returns (including dividends) of 120%, as it has outperformed the S&P 500 during this time frame.

How $300 per month can turn into $1 million

To turn a $300-per-month investment into $1 million will take time. In all likelihood, it'll be decades before those monthly investments build up your portfolio to anywhere close to $1 million. Here's a breakdown of what your investment might be worth if it grows by an average of 10% per year, which is in line with how the S&P 500 has historically performed.

Calculations by author.

Under these assumptions, it WOULD take approximately 34 years of making monthly investments of $300 into the Vanguard ETF before your portfolio reaches $1 million.

Why you're never too old to start investing

If you don't have 30-plus investing years to go, you may feel discouraged with a strategy that involves investing for decades. But there are ways to accelerate your gains. If you're able to invest more per month or perhaps come into some money due to inheritance or the sale of an asset, putting that money into a top growth ETF can not only increase your portfolio's value but also means more money is compounding each year, positioning you for greater gains along the way.

There are plenty of good reasons to invest in the stock market, even if you are worried you may not have enough investing years left to make a big profit. It's still likely a far better approach for the long term than simply putting your savings in a bank account.