Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in VTLE 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-35.8%
Final Value$29.2K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return-44.3%
Final Value$25.4K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return-52.3%
Final Value$21.7K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap16.6 pp
Your timing vs best-8.5%
Your timing vs worst+8.1%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of -9.3%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$18K~1.0x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$30K~1.0x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$60K~1.0x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$120K~1.0x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.0x your money
5 Years~1.0x your money
10 Years~1.0x your money
20 Years~1.0x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$0 est. gain
$6K+$0 est. gain
$12K+$0 est. gain
$24K+$0 est. gain
$250/mo
$9K+$0 est. gain
$15K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$500/mo
$18K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$1,000/mo
$36K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$240K+$0 est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of -9.3% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
72 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$55.20
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$33.80
$10,500
$6,623
-36.92%
$-3,877
Mar 2, 2020
$19.20
$11,000
$4,262
-61.25%
$-6,738
Apr 2, 2020
$7.60
$11,500
$2,187
-80.98%
$-9,313
May 4, 2020
$21.20
$12,000
$6,601
-44.99%
$-5,399
Jun 2, 2020
$20.35
$12,500
$6,836
-45.31%
$-5,664
Jul 2, 2020
$13.55
$13,000
$5,052
-61.14%
$-7,948
Aug 3, 2020
$14.54
$13,500
$5,921
-56.14%
$-7,579
Sep 2, 2020
$14.69
$14,000
$6,482
-53.70%
$-7,518
Oct 2, 2020
$9.24
$14,500
$4,577
-68.43%
$-9,923
Nov 2, 2020
$8.38
$15,000
$4,651
-68.99%
$-10,349
Dec 2, 2020
$12.01
$15,500
$7,166
-53.77%
$-8,334
Jan 4, 2021
$20.33
$16,000
$12,630
-21.06%
$-3,370
Feb 2, 2021
$25.30
$16,500
$16,218
-1.71%
$-282
Mar 2, 2021
$31.90
$17,000
$20,949
+23.23%
$3,949
Apr 5, 2021
$33.03
$17,500
$22,191
+26.81%
$4,691
May 3, 2021
$41.05
$18,000
$28,079
+56.00%
$10,079
Jun 2, 2021
$65.28
$18,500
$45,153
+144.07%
$26,653
Jul 2, 2021
$88.93
$19,000
$62,011
+226.38%
$43,011
Aug 2, 2021
$52.51
$19,500
$37,115
+90.34%
$17,615
Sep 2, 2021
$58.79
$20,000
$42,054
+110.27%
$22,054
Oct 4, 2021
$87.82
$20,500
$63,320
+208.88%
$42,820
Nov 2, 2021
$73.95
$21,000
$53,820
+156.28%
$32,820
Dec 2, 2021
$56.97
$21,500
$41,962
+95.17%
$20,462
Jan 3, 2022
$68.04
$22,000
$50,616
+130.07%
$28,616
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in VTLE
Investing $500 per month in Vital Energy, Inc. (VTLE) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $25K today. That's -44.3% total return on $46K invested, with a -9.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).