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Real Wealth Calculator

Two plain questions. What will your savings actually buy in ten or twenty years, once inflation has taken its share. And what are you really worth today, once what you owe comes off what you own.

Free, and the answers appear without an account. You can change every assumption, and the page shows the formula behind each number.

What you save, and what it will buy

A common planning convention for a long-term, diversified portfolio, before tax and fees. It is not a promise, and no investment pays the same figure every year. Change it to whatever you think is reasonable.

Over 20 years

If you keep it as cash, inflation quietly takes

$26,779

You would still have $60,000 in the account. It would buy what $33,220 buys today.

Total you put in
$60,000
Invested, in future dollars
$130,231
Invested, in today's money
$72,106
Cash, in future dollars
$60,000
Cash, in today's money
$33,220
Real return, each year
3.88%

At 3% a year, cash loses half its value in 23.4 years.

  • Investing rather than holding the same money as cash leaves you $38,885 better off in today’s money, on these assumptions.
  • Contributions are added at the end of each month and the return is applied monthly.
Invested, in future dollarsInvested, in today’s moneyKept as cash, in today’s money
nowyr 7yr 14yr 20

Top of the chart: $130,231. The two lower lines are the same money measured in what it would buy today.

How we calculated this
  1. Total you put in$60,000

    monthly amount x 12 x years

    $250 x 12 x 20

  2. Invested, in future dollars$130,231

    Each month the balance grows by one twelfth of the annual return, then the new contribution is added. Repeated for every month.

    start at $0, then 240 times: balance x (1 + 7% / 12) + $250

  3. Invested, in today’s money$72,106

    future value / (1 + inflation) ^ years

    $130,231 / (1 + 3%) ^ 20

  4. Kept as cash, in future dollars$60,000

    the same money, with nothing added: it is what you put in

    $250 x 12 x 20

  5. Kept as cash, in today’s money$33,220

    cash / (1 + inflation) ^ years

    $60,000 / (1 + 3%) ^ 20

  6. What inflation takes off the cash$26,779

    cash in future dollars - cash in today’s money

    $60,000 - $33,220

  7. Real return3.88%

    (1 + return) / (1 + inflation) - 1

    (1 + 7%) / (1 + 3%) - 1

  8. Years for cash to lose half its value23.4 years

    ln(2) / ln(1 + inflation)

    ln(2) / ln(1 + 3%)

The PDF needs a free account. The results above do not.

Educational illustration. Returns are not guaranteed. Not financial advice.

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Where the default figures come from

Expected annual return

7%

A common planning convention for a long-term, diversified portfolio, before tax and fees. It is not a promise, and no investment pays the same figure every year. Change it to whatever you think is reasonable.

A planning convention, not a measured figure. Reviewed 2026-10-11.

Inflation, US dollar

3%

A planning convention for dollar prices over a long period, not a measured rate for any single year. If your own costs rise faster, put your own figure in.

A planning convention, not a measured figure. Reviewed 2026-10-11.

Inflation, Lebanese lira

17.5%

A forecast for lira prices, not a measured outcome. Use it if your spending is in lira. If you save and spend in dollars, the dollar figure is the one that applies to you.

World Bank, Lebanon Economic Monitor, 2026 forecast Reviewed 2026-10-11.

Questions

Is this financial advice?

No. It is an illustration you control. Every rate is yours to change, every formula is printed on the page, and nothing here knows anything about your situation.

Where does the 7% return come from?

It is a planning convention for a long-term diversified portfolio, not a forecast and not a promise. Put your own figure in if you think another one is fairer.

Why does the lira preset use 17.5%?

That is the World Bank Lebanon Economic Monitor forecast for 2026. It describes lira prices. If you earn, save and spend in dollars, the dollar figure is the one that applies to you.

Do I need an account?

Not to use it. The results are free and nothing is stored. A free account is needed only to download the PDF report.