Want to Turn $182,000 Into $1 Million? Just Do This

Can you turn $182,000 into $1 million? Of course you can -- and you don't even have to buy a lottery ticket or send money from your bank account to a mysterious foreign prince who just needs help getting his fortune out of his country's bank and who promises you a generous cut if you just forward some cash upfront.

How can you work this magic and make your $182,000 into a seven-figure sum? Here's what you need to do.

An almost surefire approach to turning $182,000 into $1 million

If you want to turn $182,000 into $1 million, all you need to do is put the money into an investment account and make a simple, straightforward investment that anyone can make.

See, if you invest around $506 each month for 30 years, you will have put a grand total of $182,160 into your investment account. But because that $506 each month will have earned returns that were reinvested and that, in turn, earned you even more money, you would end up with a whole lot more than $182,160.

READ MORE: How Does Compound Interest Work?

Assuming you earned 10% average annual returns, you'd have around $1 million at the end of that 30-year period. You'd have increased your money by around 449.451% over time.

And you don't need to be an investment genius to do that either. The S&P 500 is a financial index made up of around 500 large U.S. companies. The financial index has consistently produced 10% average annual returns over the long term, and you can invest in it easily by opting for an ETF that tracks its performance. You can invest in these by choosing one of our favorite ETF brokers.

Of course, you can potentially earn more than a 10% return if you're good at selecting individual investments. But you don't need to be Warren Buffett to take $182,000 and turn it into $1 million, as long as you give yourself a long investing timeline and are consistent with investing your money over three decades.

Starting working on your millions today

Being able to turn $182,000 into $1 million is the magic that makes it possible to retire with a substantial sum of money to provide for yourself.

The reality is that very few people -- except for the extremely wealthy -- could amass $1 million without investing wisely and earning returns that grow their wealth. You would simply have to save too much money. In fact, ending up with $1 million after 30 years if you didn't earn any returns on investing your money would mean you'd need to save $33,333.33 every single year. Who can do that?

You don't need to be scared of investing -- and frankly, you can't afford to be. And you can't wait to get started. Make a plan today to put some money into a retirement account that comes with tax benefits like the ability to make deductible contributions, such as an individual retirement account (IRA). Research ETFs or mutual funds that charge low fees and that give you exposure to the S&P 500. Then sit back and watch your money grow, so you can amass your million.