Friday, February 2, 2007

What if a Penny Was Doubled Every Day for a Year?

NOTE: I believe I have devised a solution to the table boundary problem. It is not an elegant solution, by any means, but it allows you see all the data. I will continue to research alternative methods of displaying this interesting data and update this page accordingly.

In for a penny ...The penny.

One cent. The lowest currency amount in the US. A coin so maligned that if you drop one, odds are you won't pick it up. A coin so insignificant most stores have small trays laden with the cast off coppers that you can actually use should you be short of the purchase amount.

Sure, they can add up. Most people have a jar filled with pennies somewhere in their home. They add to it from time to time, sometimes even daily. Slowly the amount increases, until it is decided to cash them in. You can get a good haul that way. Maybe even a hundred bucks. More if you slip in the higher value coins.

But what if you took that lowly penny and doubled it every day? What if you did that for a year? How much money would you have?

To find out, on each day's post I will put the cumulative total to that point for the year. Also, the chart below will be updated daily to reflect each new day's amounts. Expect to see some very large numbers the further along this project goes.

Penny Doubled Daily

DayDateDoubled AmountCumulative Amount
1Jan 1$0.01$0.01
2Jan 2$0.02$0.03
3Jan 3$0.04$0.07
4Jan 4$0.08$0.15
5Jan 5$0.16$0.31
6Jan 6$0.32$0.63
7Jan 7$0.64$1.27
8Jan 8$1.28$2.55
9Jan 9$2.56$5.11
10Jan 10$5.12$10.23
11Jan 11$10.24$20.47
12Jan 12$20.48$40.95
13Jan 13$40.96$81.91
14Jan 14$81.92$163.83
15Jan 15$163.84$327.67
16Jan 16$327.68$655.35
17Jan 17$655.35$1,310.71
18Jan 18$1,310.72$2,621.43
19Jan 19$2,621.44$5,242.87
20Jan 20$5,242.88$10,485.75
21Jan 21$10,485.76$20,971.51
22Jan 22$20,971.52$41,943.03
23Jan 23$41,943.04$83,886.07
24Jan 24$83,886.07$167,772.15
25Jan 25$167,772.16$335,544.31
26Jan 26$335,544.32$671,088.63
27Jan 27$671,088.64$1,342,177.27
28Jan 28$1,342,177.28$2,684,354.55
29Jan 29$2,684,354.56$5,368,709.11
30Jan 30$5,368,709.12$10,737,418.23
31Jan 31$10,737,418.24$21,474,836.47


DayDateDoubled AmountCumulative Amount
32Feb 1$21,474,836.48$42,949,672.95
33Feb 2$42,949,672.96$85,899,345.91
34Feb 3$85,899,345.92$171,798,691.83
35Feb 4$171,798,691.84$343,597,383.67
36Feb 5$343,597,383.68$687,194,767.35
37Feb 6$687,194,767.36$1,374,389,534.71
38Feb 7$1,374,389,534.72$2,748,779,069.43
39Feb 8$2,748,779,069.44$5,497,558,138.87
40Feb 9$5,497,558,138.87$10,995,116,277.75
41Feb 10$10,995,116,277.76$21,990,232,555.51
42Feb 11$21,990,232,555.52$43,980,465,111.03
43Feb 12$43,980,465,111.04$87,960,930,222.07
44Feb 13$87,960,930,222.08$175,921,860,444.15
45Feb 14$175,921,860,444.16$351,843,720,888.31
46Feb 15$351,843,720,888.32$703,687,441,776.63
47Feb 16$703,687,441,776.64$1,407,374,883,553.27
48Feb 17$1,407,374,883,553.28$2,814,749,767,106.55
49Feb 18$2,814,749,767,106.56$5,629,499,534,213.11
50Feb 19$5,629,499,534,213.12$11,258,999,068,426.23
51Feb 20$11,258,999,068,426.24$22,517,998,136,852.47
52Feb 21$22,517,998,136,852.48$45,035,996,273,704.95
53Feb 22$45,035,996,273,704.96$90,071,992,547,409.91
54Feb 23$90,071,992,547,409.92$180,143,985,094,819.83
55Feb 24$180,143,985,094,819.84$360,287,970,189,639.67
56Feb 25$360,287,970,189,639.68$720,575,940,379,279.35
57Feb 26$720,575,940,379,279.36$1,441,151,880,758,558.71
58Feb 27$1,441,151,880,758,558.72$2,882,303,761,517,117.43
59Feb 28$2,882,303,761,517,117.44$5,764,607,523,034,234.87


DayDateDoubled AmountCumulative Amount
60Mar 1$5,764,607,523,034,234.88$11,529,215,046,068,469.75
61Mar 2$11,529,215,046,068,469.76$23,058,430,092,136,939.51
62Mar 3$23,058,430,092,136,939.52$46,116,860,184,273,879.03
63Mar 4$46,116,860,184,273,879.04$92,233,720,368,547,758.07
64Mar 5$92,233,720,368,547,758.08$184,467,440,737,095,516.15
65Mar 6$184,467,440,737,095,516.16$368,934,881,474,191,032.31
66Mar 7$368,934,881,474,191,032.32$737,869,762,948,382,064.63
67Mar 8$737,869,762,948,382,064.64$1,
475,739,525,896,764,129.27
68Mar 9$1,
475,739,525,896,764,129.28
$2,
951,479,051,793,528,258.55
69Mar 10$2,
951,479,051,793,528,258.56
$5,
902,958,103,587,056,517.11
70Mar 11$5,
902,958,103,587,056,517.12
$11,
805,916,207,174,113,034.23
71Mar 12$11,
805,916,207,174,113,034.24
$23,
611,832,414,348,226,068.47
72Mar 13$23,
611,832,414,348,226,068.47
$47,
223,664,828,696,452,136.95
73Mar 14$47,
223,664,828,696,452,136.96
$94,
447,329,657,392,904,273.91
74Mar 15$94,
447,329,657,392,904,273.92
$188,
894,659,314,785,808,547.83
75Mar 16$188,
894,659,314,785,808,547.84
$377,
789,318,629,571,617,095.67
76Mar 17$377,
789,318,629,571,617,095.68
$755,
578,637,259,143,234,191.35
77Mar 18$755,
578,637,259,143,234,191.35
$1,511,
157,274,518,286,468,382.71
78Mar 19$1,511,
157,274,518,286,468,382.72
$3,022,
314,549,036,572,936,765.43
79Mar 20$3,022,
314,549,036,572,936,765.44
$6,044,
629,098,073,145,873,530.87
80Mar 21$6,044,
629,098,073,145,873,530.88
$12,089,
258,196,146,291,747,061.75
81Mar 22$12,089,
258,196,146,291,747,061.75
$24,178,
516,392,292,583,494,123.51
82Mar 23$24,178,
516,392,292,583,494,123.52
$48,357,
032,784,585,166,988,247.03
83Mar 24$48,357,
032,784,585,166,988,247.04
$96,714,
065,569,170,333,976,494.07
84Mar 25$96,714,
065,569,170,333,976,494.08
$193,428,
131,138,340,667,952,988.15
85Mar 26$193,428,
131,138,340,667,952,988.16
$386,856,
262,276,681,335,905,976.31
86Mar 27$386,856,
262,276,681,335,905,976.32
$773,712,
524,553,362,671,811,952.63
87Mar 28$773,712,
524,553,362,671,811,952.64
$1,547,425,
049,106,725,343,623,905.27
88Mar 29$1,547,425,
049,106,725,343,623,905.27
$3,094,850,
098,213,450,687,247,810.55
89Mar 30$3,094,850,
098,213,450,687,247,810.56
$6,189,700,
196,426,901,374,495,621.11
90Mar 31$6,189,700,
196,426,901,374,495,621.12
$12,379,400,
392,853,802,748,991,242.23


DayDateDoubled AmountCumulative Amount
91Apr 1$12,379,400,
392,853,802,748,991,242.24
$24,758,800,
785,707,605,497,982,484.47
92Apr 2$24,758,800,
785,707,605,497,982,484.48
$49,517,601,
571,415,210,995,964,968.95
93Apr 3$49,517,601,
571,415,210,995,964,968.96
$99,035,203,
142,830,421,991,929,937.91
94Apr 4$99,035,203,
142,830,421,991,929,937.92
$198,070,406,
285,660,843,983,859,875.83
95Apr 5$198,070,406,
285,660,843,983,859,875.84
$396,140,812,
571,321,687,967,719,751.67
96Apr 6$396,140,812,
571,321,687,967,719,751.68
$792,281,625,
142,643,375,935,439,503.35
97Apr 7$792,281,625,
142,643,375,935,439,503.36
$1,584,563,250,
285,286,751,870,879,006.71
98Apr 8$1,584,563,250,
285,286,751,870,879,006.72
$3,169,126,500,
570,573,503,741,758,013.43
99Apr 9$3,169,126,500,
570,573,503,741,758,013.44
$6,338,253,001,
141,147,007,483,516,026.87
100Apr 10$6,338,253,001,
141,147,007,483,516,026.88
$12,676,506,002,
282,294,014,967,032,053.75
101Apr 11$12,676,506,002,
282,294,014,967,032,053.76
$25,353,012,004,
564,588,029,934,064,107.51
102Apr 12$25,353,012,004,
564,588,029,934,064,107.52
$50,706,024,009,
129,176,059,868,128,215.03
103Apr 13$50,706,024,009,
129,176,059,868,128,215.04
$101,412,048,018,
258,352,119,736,256,430.07
104Apr 14$101,412,048,018,
258,352,119,736,256,430.08
$202,824,096,036,
516,704,239,472,512,860.15
105Apr 15$202,824,096,036,
516,704,239,472,512,860.16
$405,648,192,073,
033,408,478,945,025,720.31
106Apr 16$405,648,192,073,
033,408,478,945,025,720.32
$811,296,384,146,
066,816,957,890,051,440.63
107Apr 17$811,296,384,146,
066,816,957,890,051,440.64
$1,622,592,768,292,
133,633,915,780,102,881.27
108Apr 18$1,622,592,768,292,
133,633,915,780,102,881.28
$3,245,185,536,584,
267,267,831,560,205,762.53
109Feb 3$3,245,185,536,584,
267,267,831,560,205,762.54
$6,490,371,073,168,
534,535,663,120,411,525.07
110Apr 20$6,490,371,073,168,
534,535,663,120,411,525.08
$12,980,742,146,337,
069,071,326,240,823,050.15
111Apr 21$12,980,742,146,337,
069,071,326,240,823,050.16
$25,961,484,292,674,
138,142,652,481,646,100.31
112Apr 22$25,961,484,292,674,
138,142,652,481,646,100.32
$51,922,968,585,348,
276,285,304,963,292,200.63
113Apr 23$51,922,968,585,348,
276,285,304,963,292,200.64
$103,845,937,170,696,
552,570,609,926,584,401.27
114Apr 24$103,845,937,170,696,
552,570,609,926,584,401.28
$207,691,874,341,393,
105,141,219,853,168,802.55
115Apr 25$207,691,874,341,393,
105,141,219,853,168,802.56
$415,383,748,682,786,
210,282,439,706,337,605.11
116Apr 26$415,383,748,682,786,
210,282,439,706,337,605.12
$830,767,497,365,572,
420,564,879,412,675,210.23
117Apr 27$830,767,497,365,572,
420,564,879,412,675,210.24
$1,661,534,994,731,144,
841,129,758,825,350,420.47
118Apr 28$1,661,534,994,731,144,
841,129,758,825,350,420.48
$3,323,069,989,462,289,
682,259,517,650,700,840.95
119Apr 29$3,323,069,989,462,289,
682,259,517,650,700,840.96
$6,646,139,978,924,579,
364,519,035,301,401,681.91
120Apr 30$6,646,139,978,924,579,
364,519,035,301,401,681.92
$13,292,279,957,849,158,
729,038,070,602,803,363.83


DayDateDoubled AmountCumulative Amount
121May 1$13,292,279,957,849,158,
729,038,070,602,803,363.83
$26,584,559,915,698,317,
458,076,141,205,606,727.67
122May 2$26,584,559,915,698,317,
458,076,141,205,606,727.68
$53,169,119,831,396,634,
916,152,282,411,213,455.35
123May 3$53,169,119,831,396,634,
916,152,282,411,213,455.36
$106,338,239,662,793,269,
832,304,564,822,426,910.71
124May 4$106,338,239,662,793,269,
832,304,564,822,426,910.72
$212,676,479,325,586,539,
664,609,129,644,853,821.43
125May 5$212,676,479,325,586,539,
664,609,129,644,853,821.44
$425,352,958,651,173,079,
329,218,259,289,707,642.87
126May 6$425,352,958,651,173,079,
329,218,259,289,707,642.88
$850,705,917,302,346,158,
658,436,518,579,415,285.75
127May 7$850,705,917,302,346,158,
658,436,518,579,415,285.76
$1,701,411,834,604,692,317,
316,873,037,158,830,571.51
128May 8$1,701,411,834,604,692,317,
316,873,037,158,830,571.52
$3,402,823,669,209,384,634,
633,746,074,317,661,143.03
129May 9$3,402,823,669,209,384,634,
633,746,074,317,661,143.04
$6,805,647,338,418,769,269,
267,492,148,635,322,286.07
130May 10
$6,805,647,338,418,769,269,
267,492,148,635,322,286.08
$13,
611,294,676,837,538,538,
534,984,297,270,644,572.15
131May 11$13,
611,294,676,837,538,538,
534,984,297,270,644,572.16
$27,
222,589,353,675,077,077,
069,968,594,541,289,144.31
132May 12$27,
222,589,353,675,077,077,
069,968,594,541,289,144.32
$54,
445,178,707,350,154,154,
139,937,189,082,578,288.63
133May 13$54,
445,178,707,350,154,154,
139,937,189,082,578,288.64
$108,
890,357,414,700,308,308,
279,874,378,165,156,577.27
134May 14$108,
890,357,414,700,308,308,
279,874,378,165,156,577.28
$217,
780,714,829,400,616,616,
559,748,756,330,313,154.55
135May 15$217,
780,714,829,400,616,616,
559,748,756,330,313,154.56
$435,
561,429,658,801,233,233,
119,497,512,660,626,309.11
136May 16$435,
561,429,658,801,233,233,
119,497,512,660,626,309.12
$871,
122,859,317,602,466,466,
238,995,025,321,252,618.23
137May 17$871,
122,859,317,602,466,466,
238,995,025,321,252,618.24
$1,742,
245,718,635,204,932,932,
477,990,050,642,505,236.47
139May 19$1,742,
245,718,635,204,932,932,
477,990,050,642,505,236.48
$6,968,
982,874,540,819,731,729,
911,960,202,570,020,945.91
140May 20$6,968,
982,874,540,819,731,729,
911,960,202,570,020,945.92
$13,937,
965,749,081,639,463,459,
823,920,405,140,041,891.83
141May 21$13,937,
965,749,081,639,463,459,
823,920,405,140,041,891.84
$27,875,
931,498,163,278,926,919,
647,840,810,280,083,783.67 td>
142May 22$27,875,
931,498,163,278,926,919,
647,840,810,280,083,783.68
$55,751,
862,996,326,557,853,839,
295,681,620,560,167,567.35
143May 23$55,751,
862,996,326,557,853,839,
295,681,620,560,167,567.36
$111,503,
725,992,653,115,707,678,
591,363,241,120,335,134.71
144May 24$111,503,
725,992,653,115,707,678,
591,363,241,120,335,134.72
$223,007,
451,985,306,231,415,357,
182,726,482,240,670,269.43
145May 25$223,007,
451,985,306,231,415,357,
182,726,482,240,670,269.43
$446,014,
903,970,612,462,830,714,
365,452,964,481,340,538.87
146May 26$446,014,
903,970,612,462,830,714,
365,452,964,481,340,538.87
$892,029,
807,941,224,925,661,428,
730,905,928,962,681,077.75

37 comments:

Ammaro said...

You're going to end up with a pretty big number there! Wish you the best, and perhaps you could put it into practice; you might help wipe out world hunger and what not!

My project goes up to 27 times and goes a little past a million, the mind boggles to think what 365 times would do!

Regards,

Ammar
www.doubleapenny.com

Anonymous said...

That is a lot of money!!! Genius, just genius! I am sooooooo amazed! Amazing! I wish I had that money! BRILLIANT!!!

Anonymous said...

That is a lot of money!!! Genius, just genius! I am sooooooo amazed! Amazing! I wish I had that money! BRILLIANT!!!

Anonymous said...

That's just insane!!! Pure genius!!! GOOD LUCK on getting 365!!!

toni and jim said...

Is there a formula for figuring this out?

Anonymous said...

This is interesting. However, impossible unless you are some business investing genius and you're able to double your money by Jan 19th or 20th.

I know i can't double 2 to 5 grand without saving my whole paycheck. How are you going to double thousands of dollars everyday after that?

This shouldn't be called Penny Doubled Daily. More like Double Your Money Daily.

I came across this blog looking for a formula to figure out an idea I came across for saving about 600 dollars extra a year.

It's a little closer to a penny a day but not quite.

You save a penny for the day of the year it is. You start with 1cent on Jan 1st of course and by the time you get to the 31st you are still only putting in 31cents.

On Feb 1st you put in 32cents. On Feb 2nd you put in 33cents and so on.

On Dec 31st you only need to put in 365 cents ($3.65) obviously. And bam, you've got $600bucks!

Unless it's leap year then you'll have $600.01

Anonymous said...

What's up with your project? Did you actually stick to it? I would like to know more info.........email me at my gmail(teamprofit101)

Anonymous said...

For days 144 and 145 you typed the total amount of the money off by a penny.

Anonymous said...

There are many days starting with day 24, day 42, etc. that you break the number pattern when doubling the amount. The last digit pattern is 2, 4, 8, 6 yet you come up with sevens on many of the days. Redo!

Anonymous said...

WOW I knew it would be alot but it is bigger than imagend

Anonymous said...

i actually asked someone to give me a dollar a day for a year or a penny a day doubled for a year and they chose a penny a day for a year but stopped when it got up to 40 dollars and somethin cents

Anonymous said...

The formula is simple: 2 raised to the power of x where x is the number of days. So after 365 days, you get 2^365 pennies. You don't need a table to list all values.

Anonymous said...

My question is you double the penny everyday at what time do you go to the bank do you save and than make a deposit nobody tell that part of it i want to do this but I need to know how to do it so you can make that kind of money

Anonymous said...

Actually the formula is 2^(x-1)

Unknown said...

2^x or 2^x-1? If you assume day 1 is when you have 2 cents, then it is 2^x. if day 1 is 1 cent then it is 2^x-1. That's my 2 cents on the topic. A more practical thing to think about for all you who want to save money. You should be able to make 10 percent a year in low risk investing. If you started with a $1000 dollars, in 30 years, it would be worth $17,449.44. Not that great really. But now lets say you started with 1000 dollars and you contribute 100 dollars a month to this for 30 years. May or may not be feasible depending up on who you are, but this would be worth $234,581.67. Almost a quarter of a million. 197,581.67 of which is earned in interest. Oh and if you could get 20 percent in the same scenario, you would have 2 million dollars!

CreepKill2003 said...

uh... how much would you have if you did that for a year?

Anonymous said...

For most people, doubling the amount after the 15th day will be a tad bit hard. Being that most people do not have this kind of money to double up. I'm going to do it every month for a year, but only until the 15th. After that I'll deposit 70% into savings and do it again with the 30%. Either way, you'll come up on some good money. Just flip sonnet of what you saved!

Anonymous said...

The guy who said if you saved an amount relative to the number of the day in the year it is (penny for Jan. 1st, 2 for Jan. 2nd, etc.)... the amount would not be $600 even. It would be $667.95 for a 365 day year. For a leap year it would be $671.61. :)

Anonymous said...

https://jsfiddle.net/L81r12o8/18/

Anonymous said...

... Wow just wow ... He added the values 4+2+1= 7

Unknown said...

2.2934986e103 for a year.

Unknown said...

An impossible task.

Anonymous said...

Liar

Unknown said...

If a company asks you, What do you want to get paid? this would be the best answer. Yeah at first it would pay off but then at day 18/19 you will start to see it.

Anonymous said...

That is so unreal!!!

Kassy Dee said...

I can afford this much better!

Anonymous said...

Fuck you

Unknown said...

Now this is a more attainable figure

Unknown said...

$892 Duodecillion and change... I could probably live frugally and make that last for a while.

Emitir Fatura said...


Anywhere in the world, they all throw away the 1 cent coin off. Unfortunately the card machines for autonomy have changed the world, cents only for large companies.

Ekenemelya said...

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Find anything here

Unknown said...

There are several errors in the penny doubled daily. When a number is doubled it has to be an even number. There are more than half dozen places where this amount is an odd number, the first is at day 17 showing $655.35, it should be $655.36. Boy I surly would not like being cheated out of that penny!

Anonymous said...

That's exactly what I would like to know, but I suspect that I would not even understand the formula. I guess I'll just stay broke.

laserpanda said...

At roughly 3 months you would equal the mass of the earth (even assuming they're all newly minted pennies that are lighter than their old pure copper counterparts.)

At this point you would be losing some pennies as pressure from gravity turned them into a molten core at the center of your new copper world.

Within days you would be at the point where the zinc and copper atoms were being crushed together with enough force to create new elements, and now you've briefly created a star, and days later an increasingly large black hole.

In short, if someone offers you a penny doubled every day, run.

julien said...

wwwwwooooooowwwwwwww

Unknown said...

HOLY $HIT!!!!! How much for 365 days? I mean if this really happened what would you do with it? I would donate 1/3 of it to charity, 1/3 of it to church, and keep the rest to follow my dreams. My dreams are to play soccer for Real Madrid and have a mansion like Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
or Criastiano Ronaldo for short. I would go and meet him, and I would own all the Ferrari's, Pagani's, Bugatti's, a Hennessy Venom GT, a Ford Shelby GT 500, all the Porsche's, McLaren's, Aston Martin's, Lamborghini's, Maserati's, Lykan's, a Ford GT, and a Gumport Apollo. Yes, I have my future planned out but i won't ever achieve it. I would buy food for all the hungry people in the world.

Unknown said...

So for the 146 days how would you say that