I have $10,000 in the stock market, how much will i have in 30 years?

Question

I'm trying to decide if I should withdraw the $10,000 now to pay for my wedding, or if I should leave it until I retire. It is from a previous part time job, so I'm not putting any additional money into it and I have a new 401K with my current employeer where I am investing15% of my pay each pay period. If the $10,000 ends up being a good amount of money, I'll leave it for retirement, but if it won't help too much, I'd rather use it now to pay for my wedding instead of hoping that the guests will provide! Thanks in advance for your answers!

Answer 1

With the economy the way it is now, there are many great stocks that are undervalued. This is the time to buy and not withdraw if you know what you're doing. Just "owning stock" regardless of what kind of stock will neither lose money or make money over time. Everything depends on which stock you own.

You don't sound like you are saavy enough to manage your stock purchases by yourself or you wouldn't have asked this question. Either get a good stockbroker to help you or move your money to an IRA with a long history of stable management and good performance and contribute more to your 401K to take advantage of your employer's matching program.

To lessen your retirement funds to pay for a one day event, no matter how special it might be to you, is not wise at all. You never know when you might be laid off or face serious medical expenses even before your retirement. So preserve any money you've saved and find other ways to fund your wedding as well as planning an elegant but less expensive event.

It is very difficult to see yourself and your spouse as much older and retired. When you are, you may have no other funds but what you've saved and a little social security check to provide for all of your needs--with no ability to earn extra money. How pleasant and secure your older years will be depends on the decisions you make now.

Answer 2

With the stock market, you never really know. You are much better off investing it in the bank to a CD account, where you make money off a certain intrest no matter what. They last different amounts of time and you can always renew them. AND the more money you put in, the more you'll make. So my advice would be to take your money out of the stocks before you loose it all.

Answer 3

it's anyone's guess. you could have millions, or you could have zip.

i'd leave it in my 401K, but then i'd look over my 401K very carefully to see where it's invested. oftentimes you can do better for yourself if you do your own homework and follow what's going on in the world.

i would consider putting some or most of it into a portfolio of precious metals or other currently out of favor commodities...

Answer 4

How could anyone possibly know? The stock market is volatile and dynamic. You could have 10,000 in great stocks or 10,000 in garbage.

Answer 5

you could have nothing. but at the same time, if you think we're approaching the bottom of the financial crisis, it's not a good time to sell!

also, why is the choice between spending it now and keeping it until retirement?  If the shares peak in a few years time it may be a good time to sell regardless of whether you are retiring.

Another point - someone has already mentioned not counting on the guests paying for your wedding.  I will also add: don't count on being around to spend you money in retirement

So, in short, there is no right answer, only additional factors for you to consider :)

Answer 6

The way the stock market is going you will have about 10 cents.

Answer 7

how are you paying for your wedding? credit card?

Answer 8

How much money your $10,000 investment will be worth in the future depends a lot on how well you've invested it.  Some stocks will go up, while others may go down all the way to zero.

And you also have to consider inflation.   Because you might have positive gains over many years.  But if the inflation is high during these years.  Then the purchasing value of your investment would go down instead of up.

I think the outlook for future stock market prices and inflation is highly uncertain.  And it's hard to say whether you will gain or loose on your stock market investment.  

Perhaps a more sure investment would be to buy agricultural land.  The world population is growing and so is the demand for food.  And good agricultural land will almost certainly be worth more many years from now than it is worth now.

Answer 9

The way the stock market is now, you won't have anything left.  Pull the money out and put it into something safer.  As for the wedding, don't rely on guests paying the bill.

Answer 10

If you are investing for long term growth, you will find no investment that beats the stock market over the long term.  If you have 30 years to let the money sit, any financial advisor will recommend keeping it in stocks (assuming you are properly diversified among various industries and various size companies.)

Typically, when conservatively trying to project stock market earnings, the figure of 8-10% per year on average is used.  Ofcourse this can vary, and it is currently not earning that, but that is what the market will get you over the long term.

So, $10K for 30 years at 9% will give you around $133K.

Answer 11

I would put it in an exchange traded fund (ETF), or a tracker which follows the DJIA or S&P. At the moment these indices are relatively low and the sentiment is poor. I imagine that over the next 30 years both indices will go up as we emerge from this current economic downturn in the next 3/4 years or so.

However, this is an extremely hard question to answer, so don't quote me in 30 years asking why your ETF never made huge gains!!

:-)

Answer 12

Since it is in the stock market there is no guarantee that you will have anything in 30 years. It depends upon what you have your stock in. If it is anything other than medical it is rather risky. You need to have it in a federally insured account (certificate of deposit/ a Roth one so you don't have to report the interest earned on it).

If you must 'play' the stock market you may want to consider putting it in medical.

Paying for your wedding is a very good idea; you can then start putting money away in the Roth certificates of deposit without having the concern of paying taxes on any interest earned. Remember though to not exceed $100,000. at each bank. If others had thought of that they wouldn't have lost there money when the banks went bankrupt.

I have a savings account at a few banks. When I get enough to buy a good certificate of deposit I go in and convert it knowing that I won't have to pay any taxes down the road. The little bit of interest I do receive in the mean time is not enough for the government to be concerned with.

a 401K is a good idea; especially if your employer has a matching program. Consider having control over where your money is put toward.