The Australian share market has historically been a great place to put your money if you want to become a millionaire.
And while past performance is no guarantee of future returns, I wouldn't bet against the market continuing to create millionaires long into the future.
How can you become a millionaire buying ASX shares?
If you are lucky and unearth a future blue chip while it is still a small cap, you could become a millionaire very quickly. But the majority of small caps will never turn into mid-caps, let alone blue chips. So, don't bet the house on this happening!
Instead, investors would be better off taking the slow and steady approach to becoming a millionaire with ASX shares.
This involves regularly buying high-quality ASX shares such as CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), holding onto them, and allowing compounding to do its stuff.
So, how quickly could you become a millionaire this way? Let's find out.
The slow and steady approach
Getting to millionaire status with ASX shares will depend largely on how much you can put into the share market each month.
Over the last 30 years, the Australian share market has generated an average return of 9.6% per annum.
If you were to make regular investments of $500 each month and the share market continued to generate this level of return, it would take you a touch over 30 years to reach your destination.
This means that an 18-year-old could become a share market millionaire before they turn 50 by putting $500 into ASX shares each month.
Investing more
If you are in a position to invest more into the share market each, you will of course get there sooner.
For example, an investment of $1,000 into ASX shares with the same return would turn into $1 million after just over 23 years.
Whereas a $2,500 investment each month would take you just over 15 years and $5,000 each month would get you there in just over 10 years.
All in all, if you have a long-term investment plan and the discipline to stick to it, you will be well-placed to achieve your goals.