Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in NRG 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+305.1%
Final Value$194.4K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+285.0%
Final Value$184.8K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+265.1%
Final Value$175.2K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap40.0 pp
Your timing vs best-20.1%
Your timing vs worst+19.9%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 23.7%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$25K~1.4x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$53K~1.8x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$207K~3.4x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$1.9M~16.2x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.4x your money
5 Years~1.8x your money
10 Years~3.4x your money
20 Years~16.2x your money
$100/mo
$5K+$1K est. gain
$11K+$5K est. gain
$41K+$29K est. gain
$388K+$364K est. gain
$250/mo
$12K+$3K est. gain
$27K+$12K est. gain
$103K+$73K est. gain
$970K+$910K est. gain
$500/mo
$25K+$7K est. gain
$53K+$23K est. gain
$207K+$147K est. gain
$1.9M+$1.8M est. gain
$1,000/mo
$50K+$14K est. gain
$106K+$46K est. gain
$413K+$293K est. gain
$3.9M+$3.6M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 23.7% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$38.80
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$37.54
$10,500
$10,254
-2.34%
$-246
Mar 2, 2020
$34.17
$11,000
$9,833
-10.61%
$-1,167
Apr 2, 2020
$27.79
$11,500
$8,497
-26.11%
$-3,003
May 4, 2020
$32.95
$12,000
$10,665
-11.12%
$-1,335
Jun 2, 2020
$35.90
$12,500
$12,120
-3.04%
$-380
Jul 2, 2020
$32.79
$13,000
$11,570
-11.00%
$-1,430
Aug 3, 2020
$33.47
$13,500
$12,415
-8.04%
$-1,085
Sep 2, 2020
$35.41
$14,000
$13,635
-2.61%
$-365
Oct 2, 2020
$31.06
$14,500
$12,460
-14.07%
$-2,040
Nov 2, 2020
$32.17
$15,000
$13,527
-9.82%
$-1,473
Dec 2, 2020
$33.60
$15,500
$14,629
-5.62%
$-871
Jan 4, 2021
$36.30
$16,000
$16,304
+1.90%
$304
Feb 2, 2021
$42.75
$16,500
$19,852
+20.31%
$3,352
Mar 2, 2021
$39.28
$17,000
$18,740
+10.24%
$1,740
Apr 5, 2021
$37.52
$17,500
$18,401
+5.15%
$901
May 3, 2021
$35.54
$18,000
$18,088
+0.49%
$88
Jun 2, 2021
$33.02
$18,500
$17,305
-6.46%
$-1,195
Jul 2, 2021
$41.41
$19,000
$22,202
+16.85%
$3,202
Aug 2, 2021
$41.10
$19,500
$22,710
+16.46%
$3,210
Sep 2, 2021
$45.67
$20,000
$25,735
+28.68%
$5,735
Oct 4, 2021
$40.33
$20,500
$23,226
+13.30%
$2,726
Nov 2, 2021
$39.54
$21,000
$23,457
+11.70%
$2,457
Dec 2, 2021
$36.55
$21,500
$22,183
+3.18%
$683
Jan 3, 2022
$42.96
$22,000
$26,573
+20.79%
$4,573
Page 1 of 4
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in NRG
Investing $500 per month in NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $185K today. That's +285.0% total return on $48K invested, with a +23.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $8K from reinvested dividends.