Savings Goal Calculator
Set a savings target and a deadline to see the monthly amount you need, or enter what you can save each month to see how long it will take. Interest, inflation and deposit timing are optional, and a year-by-year table shows how the balance builds.
Your result
Enter your goal above to see the result.
A planning estimate only, not financial advice. Interest is compounded monthly at the rate you enter and is not guaranteed. Tax, fees and changes in rates are not included.
Turning a goal into a monthly number
“I want to save 20,000” is a wish. “I need to put away about 465 a month for three years” is a plan. The gap between the two is a short piece of arithmetic, and that is what this calculator does. You can come at it from either direction: start with the target and a deadline and find the monthly amount, or start with what you can afford each month and find how long it will take.
It works for any goal with a number attached, such as an emergency fund, a deposit on a home, a car, a wedding, a holiday, a course or a cushion for a career break.
How to use this calculator
- Monthly amount needed: enter the goal, what you have already saved, how long you have and the interest rate. The result is the amount to put away each month.
- Time to reach goal: enter the goal, your current savings, the monthly deposit and the rate. The result is how many years and months it takes.
- Open More options to add inflation, to move deposits to the start of the month, or to add a currency symbol.
The table under the result shows each year’s balance, split into what you paid in and what the interest added.
The formulas
Monthly rate r = annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100
Balance after n months = start × (1 + r)n + deposit × ((1 + r)n − 1) ÷ r
Deposit needed = (goal − start × (1 + r)n) ÷ (((1 + r)n − 1) ÷ r)
With 0% interest: deposit needed = (goal − start) ÷ n
The first part of the balance formula is your existing savings growing on their own. The second part is the stream of monthly deposits, each growing for the time it stays in the account. When deposits are made at the start of the month, each one earns one extra month of interest.
Worked examples
A three-year target
Goal 20,000, already saved 2,000, three years, 4% a year. With no interest you would need 500 a month. With interest, 464.77 a month is enough, because the interest does a little of the work. Over 36 months you pay in 16,731.54 and, together with your 2,000, the interest adds about 1,268.
An emergency fund with no interest
You want 10,000 in two years and start from nothing. 10,000 ÷ 24 = 416.67 a month. Setting the rate to zero is a sensible way to plan if you do not want to count on interest.
How long will it take?
Goal 50,000, starting with 5,000, adding 500 a month at 5%. The balance passes 50,000 after 74 months, which is 6 years and 2 months. At 0% interest the same plan takes 7 years and 6 months, so interest saves about 16 months here.
A goal that keeps up with prices
A goal of 20,000 in today’s money, with 3% inflation, is about 21,855 in three years. If you want the target to buy the same things when you reach it, plan for that larger figure, which the inflation option does for you.
Monthly saving needed for a 10,000 goal
Starting from zero, this is how much you would need to put away each month, with and without interest. Deposits are made at the end of each month and interest is 4% a year compounded monthly.
| Time | At 0% interest | At 4% interest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 833.33 | 818.17 |
| 2 years | 416.67 | 400.92 |
| 3 years | 277.78 | 261.91 |
| 4 years | 208.33 | 192.46 |
| 5 years | 166.67 | 150.83 |
The pattern is clear. Doubling the time roughly halves the monthly amount, and for goals of a few years the interest changes the figure by only a few per cent. Time and the amount you can set aside matter far more than the rate.
Making a plan stick
- Pay yourself first. Move the monthly amount to a separate account on payday, before you can spend it.
- Keep goals apart. A separate account for each goal makes progress easy to see.
- Be a little cautious with interest. Use a rate slightly lower than the one advertised, or use 0%, and let any extra be a bonus.
- Revisit the plan when your income or the goal changes. Run the calculator again with your real balance.
- For an emergency fund, many people aim for several months of essential spending, but the right amount depends on your job, dependants and other safety nets.
What the calculator does not include
It does not include tax on interest, account fees, changes in the interest rate, or deposits that vary from month to month. It assumes one fixed monthly deposit and a fixed rate. For a plan that depends on investments rather than savings accounts, returns are not guaranteed and can be negative, so treat any investment results as illustrations, not forecasts.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out how much to save each month?
Subtract what your current savings will grow to from your goal, then spread the rest over the number of months you have. With no interest the sum is simple: (goal − starting amount) ÷ months. To save 10,000 in 24 months from nothing, that is 10,000 ÷ 24 = 416.67 a month. If your savings earn interest, you need a little less each month, and the Monthly amount tab does the exact calculation.
How long will it take to reach my savings goal?
Use the Time to reach goal tab. Enter the target, what you have now, how much you will add each month and the interest rate, and the calculator counts the months until the balance reaches the target. For example, 500 a month on top of 5,000 at 5% interest reaches 50,000 in about 6 years and 2 months.
Does interest make a big difference?
It depends on the time and the rate. Over a year or two at a modest rate, interest adds little, and the amount you deposit matters far more. Over ten or twenty years the interest can become a large share of the total. The results panel shows how much of your final balance came from deposits and how much from interest, so you can see the effect for your own numbers.
What interest rate should I use?
Use the rate your account actually pays, or a cautious estimate if you are unsure. Rates change, and no rate is guaranteed. If you want a plan that does not depend on interest, set it to 0 and treat any interest you do earn as a bonus.
What does the inflation setting do?
It treats your goal as an amount in today's money and raises it by the inflation rate each year, so the target keeps its buying power. A goal of 20,000 in today's money, with 3% inflation, is about 21,855 in three years. Leave it at 0 if your goal is a fixed sum, such as a deposit with a set price.
What is the difference between depositing at the start or end of the month?
Money deposited at the start of the month earns interest for that whole month, so you need slightly less to reach the same goal. The difference is small, usually well under 1% of the monthly amount for ordinary rates, and the end-of-month setting is the more cautious choice.
What if I will already reach my goal without new deposits?
If your current savings will grow to the goal by the date you chose, the calculator says no extra deposits are needed and shows what the balance will be.
Is interest compounded in this calculator?
Yes. The annual rate is divided by 12 and applied each month to the balance, so interest earns interest. That matches most savings accounts that pay monthly. Accounts that pay yearly will give a slightly different result.
Does this include tax or fees?
No. Interest may be taxable depending on where you live and the type of account, and some accounts charge fees. Both would reduce what you end up with, so build in a margin if they apply to you.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a planning tool that does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It does not know your full situation and does not recommend any account or investment.
Is anything I enter saved or sent anywhere?
No. The sums run in your browser and nothing you type is uploaded or stored on our servers.
Related calculators
To see where regular investing could lead, try the SIP calculator or the compound interest calculator. To plan around your income, use the salary and hourly wage converter, and for borrowing instead of saving, the loan EMI calculator.