Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in IDA means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of share price. This strategy reduces timing risk and builds wealth steadily through market ups and downs.
How This Calculator Works
Our DCA calculator simulates real market conditions using historical price data. It accounts for dividend reinvestment (DRIP), where each dividend payment automatically purchases additional shares. You can adjust the investment amount, frequency, time period, and compare against benchmarks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.
Same amount invested each month — only the day of purchase changes. How much does intra-month timing actually matter?
Best Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly low
Total Return+60.4%
Final Value$77.0K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+55.4%
Final Value$74.6K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+51.0%
Final Value$72.5K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap9.4 pp
Your timing vs best-5.0%
Your timing vs worst+4.4%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 7.2%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$20K~1.1x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$36K~1.2x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$86K~1.4x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$260K~2.2x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.1x your money
5 Years~1.2x your money
10 Years~1.4x your money
20 Years~2.2x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$391 est. gain
$7K+$1K est. gain
$17K+$5K est. gain
$52K+$28K est. gain
$250/mo
$10K+$978 est. gain
$18K+$3K est. gain
$43K+$13K est. gain
$130K+$70K est. gain
$500/mo
$20K+$2K est. gain
$36K+$6K est. gain
$86K+$26K est. gain
$260K+$140K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$40K+$4K est. gain
$72K+$12K est. gain
$173K+$53K est. gain
$519K+$279K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 7.2% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$105.56
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$112.55
$10,500
$11,162
+6.31%
$662
Mar 2, 2020
$102.17
$11,000
$10,694
-2.78%
$-306
Apr 2, 2020
$88.10
$11,500
$9,722
-15.46%
$-1,778
May 4, 2020
$89.44
$12,000
$10,443
-12.97%
$-1,557
Jun 2, 2020
$94.02
$12,500
$11,478
-8.18%
$-1,022
Jul 2, 2020
$89.58
$13,000
$11,436
-12.03%
$-1,564
Aug 3, 2020
$92.12
$13,500
$12,260
-9.18%
$-1,240
Sep 2, 2020
$90.21
$14,000
$12,594
-10.05%
$-1,406
Oct 2, 2020
$82.97
$14,500
$12,083
-16.67%
$-2,417
Nov 2, 2020
$89.81
$15,000
$13,579
-9.47%
$-1,421
Dec 2, 2020
$92.04
$15,500
$14,526
-6.29%
$-974
Jan 4, 2021
$91.79
$16,000
$14,986
-6.34%
$-1,014
Feb 2, 2021
$88.59
$16,500
$14,964
-9.31%
$-1,536
Mar 2, 2021
$86.14
$17,000
$15,168
-10.78%
$-1,832
Apr 5, 2021
$100.58
$17,500
$18,210
+4.06%
$710
May 3, 2021
$102.14
$18,000
$18,993
+5.51%
$993
Jun 2, 2021
$98.10
$18,500
$18,868
+1.99%
$368
Jul 2, 2021
$97.64
$19,000
$19,280
+1.47%
$280
Aug 2, 2021
$106.60
$19,500
$21,549
+10.51%
$2,049
Sep 2, 2021
$107.45
$20,000
$22,366
+11.83%
$2,366
Oct 4, 2021
$105.00
$20,500
$22,356
+9.05%
$1,856
Nov 2, 2021
$105.86
$21,000
$23,039
+9.71%
$2,039
Dec 2, 2021
$106.57
$21,500
$23,861
+10.98%
$2,361
Jan 3, 2022
$111.87
$22,000
$25,548
+16.13%
$3,548
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in IDA
Investing $500 per month in IDACORP, Inc. (IDA) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $75K today. That's +55.4% total return on $48K invested, with a +7.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $6K from reinvested dividends.