That's exactly why it's 5%, it's an average of the highs and lows. Right now it might be tricky to earn that (it's not impossible though), but in the early 2000

That's exactly why it's 5%, it's an average of the highs and lows. Right now it might be tricky to earn that (it's not impossible though), but in the early 2000s you could easily make that. With decent investments you can make two or three times what the same money sitting in a high interest bank account will make.