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Savings Calculator

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Instead of projecting where your savings will end up, this calculator works backward from a goal: tell it what you're saving for, by when, and what you've already got — and it tells you the monthly amount needed to get there.

Savings Goal Calculator

Live
Save this much per month
$464.77
Total you'll contribute
$16,732
Interest earned
$1,268
Assumes a steady rate of return on a high-yield savings account or similar.

How the required monthly amount is calculated

PMT = [FV − P(1 + r)ⁿ] ÷ [((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) ÷ r]

FV is your goal, P is what you've already saved, r is the monthly interest rate, and n is the number of months until your deadline.

Example

Goal: $20,000 in 3 years, starting with $2,000, at 4% annual interest: you'd need to save about $464.77/month to hit the goal exactly on time.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Enter your savings goal — the total amount you want to reach.
  2. Enter what you've already saved toward it.
  3. Enter your deadline in years (use decimals for partial years, like 2.5).
  4. Enter an expected interest rate if the money will sit in an interest-bearing account — use 0 if it won't.

Common mistakes

Assuming stock-market-level returns on a short-term savings goal — for money needed within a few years, a savings or money-market account rate is more realistic than long-term investment returns.
Forgetting to update the "already saved" figure as your balance grows, which would let you lower the monthly amount needed going forward.

Frequently asked questions

What if I can't afford the monthly amount shown?

Try extending your timeframe — stretching the same goal over more months lowers the required monthly amount. You can also lower the goal amount or increase your starting balance if possible.

Should I use this for retirement savings too?

This works fine for any fixed-date goal, but for open-ended retirement planning, our Retirement Calculator (which projects forward from a contribution amount rather than backward from a goal) may be a more natural fit.

Does this account for taxes on interest earned?

No — interest on a standard savings account is generally taxable income. This calculator shows the pre-tax growth; your actual after-tax total may be slightly lower.

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