Which is better $1 million dollars or 1 penny doubling for 30 days?

Which would you rather have $1 million dollars today OR 1 penny that doubles everyday for 30 days? It’s a classic case of instant gratification vs delayed gratification. Gratification is the pleasurable reaction to fulfilling a goal or desire; or in a word, happiness.

Many people would take the million dollars thrilled with the rush from immediate gratification. The wheels instantly start turning on how to spend the million. With the excitement level rising, many people won’t even stop to think what a penny doubling every day would be worth. Other people would start to do the math in their head. If they got to day 10, the penny option would be worth… a whole $5.12! Even on day 20 the penny option is only worth $5242. Well forget that, it must be better to take the mil. This is the instant gratification world we’ve been living in (just look at Congress) we can’t even take the time to do the math for the whole 30 days.

But boy if you did, the answer of which to take is much different. The magic of compounding gets really impressive at day 27. Suddenly the penny compounding is fast approaching the million dollars, $671,088. On day 28 the penny has compounded it way past $1million dollars. By delaying gratification until the day 30 payday, the penny has grown to $5,368,709.12.  Surprise, by waiting the little penny has grown far beyond the million dollars. Now that’s happiness. Now that’s happiness. 

Double a Penny everyday - Last 7 days