Savings Goal Calculator
Enter your goal, timeline, and current savings to see exactly how much you need to put away each month — with compound interest factored in.
Any financial goal — down payment, emergency fund, holiday — becomes achievable once you know the monthly number.
20%
Recommended savings rate — the 50/30/20 rule allocates 20% of take-home pay to savings and debt payoff
$20K
Typical down payment on a $100K home at 20% — a common first major savings goal
3–6mo
Recommended emergency fund before starting other savings goals
How to make any savings goal feel achievable
Break it down. Pick a timeline. Hit the monthly number consistently.
Break any goal into a monthly number
A $20,000 down payment sounds daunting. But at 4% in a high-yield savings account over 3 years, it's $515/month. Over 5 years, it drops to $294/month. Every financial goal becomes manageable once you translate it into a monthly contribution.
Your existing savings do the heavy lifting
If you already have $5,000 saved toward a $20,000 goal, that $5,000 grows on its own at your return rate — reducing the monthly deposit you need to make. The further away your goal, the more your existing savings matter.
Time is the most powerful variable
Extending a 2-year savings plan to 5 years can cut the required monthly contribution by more than half. Starting a year earlier is almost always worth more than chasing a higher interest rate — because time affects both compounding and the number of contributions.
How the Savings Goal Calculator Works
Formula
r = Annual Return Rate / 100 / 12 (monthly rate)
n = Years × 12 (total months)
PV Grown = Current Savings × (1 + r)^n
Monthly Contribution = (Goal − PV Grown) × r / ((1 + r)^n − 1)
Total Contributed = Monthly Contribution × n
Interest Earned = Goal − Current Savings − Total ContributedEnter your savings goal
The target amount — down payment, emergency fund, lump sum, or any goal.
Add your current savings
Money already set aside. This reduces your required monthly contribution.
Set your timeline
Years until you need the money. Longer timelines = lower monthly contributions.
Choose an annual return
HYSA: ~4–5% · Conservative portfolio: ~5–6% · Stock market (long-term): ~7–10%.
See your monthly number
The exact monthly deposit to hit your goal, plus total contributed and interest earned.
This calculator uses the standard future-value-of-an-annuity formula, which accounts for compound interest on both your existing savings and each monthly contribution as it is made. It's the same calculation used in financial planning software, just made accessible without a spreadsheet.
A key insight: your existing savings reduce the required monthly contribution more than you might expect, especially with a longer timeline. $5,000 already saved toward a 5-year goal at 5% return is worth $6,381 by the end — that's $1,381 in compound growth that reduces what you need to deposit monthly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Calculators
Build your complete savings and investment plan.
Emergency Fund Calculator
Calculate your ideal emergency fund before tackling other goals.
Compound Interest Calculator
See how a lump sum grows over time with compound interest.
Subscription Auditor
Find monthly savings by auditing your subscriptions.
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement nest egg and monthly income.