Melissa Horton is a financial literacy professional. She has 10+ years of experience in the financial services and planning industry. Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ...

The S&P 500 averaged 14.8% returns annually from 2012-21, despite fluctuations. From 2014-24, the 10-year average was 13.45%, totaling over 250% return. Longer-term stock investing is more reliable ...