Savings Goal Calculator
The monthly amount that reaches a savings target, with what your existing balance contributes on its own. Over short horizons growth does very little and the contribution is nearly the whole answer.
Also called: savings target calculator, how much to save monthly.
$21,956.05 a month for 36 months reaches 1,000,000. Of that, $790,417.94 is your money and $109,582.06 is growth.
An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.
This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.
How this is calculated
Work backwards. Whatever you already have grows on its own, so subtract that from the target first, then find the level monthly amount whose accumulated value covers the rest. Over three years at a deposit rate the growth is a small share of the total, which is worth seeing: for short goals the return assumption barely matters and the discipline does.
contribution = (target less what the existing balance grows to) / the annuity factor- T
- Target amount (currency)
- P
- Existing savings (currency)
- i
- Monthly rate (decimal)
- n
- Months (months)
Method and limits
What it assumes
- Contributions at the end of each month, and a constant return.
What it deliberately does not model
- Inflation is not applied, so a distant target in today’s money will cost more by the time it arrives.
- Tax on the returns is not deducted.
Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the return matter so little?
- Over a short horizon most of the money has only been invested for a few months. Growth compounds with time, so on a three-year goal it is a rounding item and on a twenty-year one it is most of the answer.