15 Ways to Double Your Money Before Retirement

Of course we all would love to double our money. But that goal needs a few more specifics. Doubling $5,000 is nice, for example, and might help you buy a used car, but doubling $500,000 could get you a comfortable retirement -- or perhaps an early one.

Building a comfortable retirement is a vital goal for most of us, and we may need to double our money and double it again -- and perhaps again and again. Here are some ways to achieve that.

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Anyone interested in doubling anything should know the rule of 72: To find out how long it will take to for a number to double, divide 72 by the annual growth rate. And to find out what growth rate you need to double your money in a certain number of years, divide 72 by the number of years.

So if you have $1,000 and it's growing at 8% per year, divide 72 by 8 and you'll get 9 -- it will take about nine years to double your money if it grows at 8% annually. The rule is very handy, but it breaks down with extremes: If your money is growing at 72% annually, for example, it will take more than one year to double.

ALSO READ: 3 Stocks That Can Double Again in 2021

One of the best ways to be able to double your money as often as possible is to start early -- such as when you're still in your teens or 20s. The longer your money has to grow, the more it can grow for you. Long investing time frames can turn even small sums into rather big ones.

It's too late for many of us to start investing young, but we're not completely out of luck. We can work on building a big retirement nest egg by saving and investing a lot. So however much you're managing to save now, see if you can save -- and invest -- more.

One way to manage to save more is to earn more -- perhaps by taking on one or more side gigs, such as a part-time weekend job or selling things you make (like candles, jewelry, furniture, sweaters, etc.) in an online marketplace. You might also rent out part or all of your home on occasion, or tutor kids online, or do some freelance writing, editing, or design.

ALSO READ: 3 Dividend Stocks to Bankroll Your Retirement

It's not enough to save and invest a lot of money: You also need to invest those hard-earned dollars effectively. That generally means the stock market, for long-term investments, because stocks tend to outperform most alternatives over long periods. For example, per the research of University of Pennsylvania professor Jeremy Siegel, the U.S. stock market posted an average annual return of 9.6% between 1926 and 2012, topping the performance of bonds and gold. His research also found stocks outperforming bonds in 96% of all 20-year holding periods between 1871 and 2012, and in 99% of all 30-year holding periods.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

The simplest way to invest in the stock market is via one or more low-cost index funds, such as one that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 index of 500 big American companies. You just plunk your money in, and it's quickly spread across the same holdings as the index it tracks, in roughly the same proportion, to give you roughly the same performance. There's little thinking or research or strategizing required. Over many decades, the stock market has averaged annual gains of close to 10%.

If you want to do better than the overall stock market, you might put some of your money (or much of it) in individual stocks that you researched and chose carefully. There's no guarantee that you'll outperform the overall market, though, and most professionally managed stock mutual funds fail to outperform their benchmark indexes.

ALSO READ: 5 Stocks That Can Turn $100,000 Into $400,000 This Decade

Within the universe of stocks, you might want to pay particular attention to growth stocks, which are ones growing at a decent clip, of course. These days, stocks such as Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Square (NYSE: SQ) would qualify as growth stocks. Growth stocks can end up grossly overvalued sometimes, though, so it's best to find ones that seem to be valued at a sum considerably less than you envision them being worth when you sell them years from now.

Tax-advantaged retirement accounts are another aid when you're trying to double your money. For example, your workplace may offer a 401(k) plan, and it may come in a traditional and Roth variety. These plans can be very effective as you can divert part of your paycheck to them automatically, before you get your hands on the money. You will typically have a group of investments to choose from when it comes to investing that money, and many employers will match some of your contribution, too. Generous contribution limits are another plus: For 2021, the annual limit is $19,500, plus an additional $6,500 for those 50 and older.

Along with 401(k)s, IRAs are also powerful wealth builders, though they sport lower contribution limits. (For 2021, the IRA contribution limit is $6,000, plus an additional $1,000 for those 50 or older.) You can open a traditional IRA account, a Roth IRA account, or one or more of each, and if your account is with a good brokerage, you can invest that money in just about any stock and/or any of many mutual funds.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

If you're eager to double your money, one way to get more dollars into your investment account is to swiftly move any tax refund you get into it. You're probably doing all right financially without that money, so you may not miss it at all while it gets to work growing for you.

ALSO READ: Got $1,000? These 2 Stocks Could Double Your Money

Another good wealth-building strategy is to save and invest most of your raises. So if you're getting paid $65,000 per year and managing to live comfortably on that, and then you get a $5,000 raise, you might increase your retirement savings by $5,000 per year. You'll keep getting by on that $65,000 while sending a lot more money into your investment coffers.

One of the most powerful ways to build a comfortable retirement is to delay it. You needn't do this if you've socked away plenty of money so that your future is financially secure. But most people are behind in their retirement savings, so working for a few extra years can generate lots of benefits. For one thing, they can save and invest more money. They may also be able to stay on their employer's health insurance plan, possibly saving a lot of money. And a shorter retirement means that your nest egg will have to support you for fewer years.

Postponing retirement can mean postponing claiming your Social Security benefits, too, and that can really pay off. Each of us can start collecting any benefits to which we're entitled as early as 62 and as late as 70. The earlier you start collecting, the smaller your checks will be -- and vice versa.

ALSO READ: 3 Social Security Secrets That Could Leave You Richer in Retirement

Finally, you'll double your money faster if you're being an overall good manager of your money, which means staying away from credit card debt and other high-interest debt, paying bills on time, maintaining a high credit score, living below your means, having an emergency fund, and so on.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

If you act on a bunch of the smart moves above, you should be able to double your money. You may also be able to triple it and quadruple it and more, depending on how well you save and invest and how much time you have.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Selena Maranjian owns shares of Amazon, Netflix, and Square. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Netflix, and Square. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920.0 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940.0 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.