Money & savings

Savings Goal Calculator

How much should you save each month? Build a plan for your target date, check a monthly budget, and see how a little extra could change your timeline.

Your goal

Build your savings plan

Target amount ($) Existing savings ($) Start date Target date Expected annual percentage yield (APY, %) Planned monthly contribution ($, optional)

APY already includes compounding. Enter your own expected rate, or 0 for no interest. Rates may change; this is not a live bank-rate quote.

Enter a monthly amount to check for a shortfall. Leave it blank to calculate only the required contribution.

Account for inflationMy target is in today's dollars

Increase the goal over time to preserve its estimated purchasing power.

Deposits are made monthly, starting one month after the start date. No deposit is assumed today. Short months use their last day; interest continues through a partial final month.

Alternative completion dates

First monthly deposit date when projected savings meet the goal. These dates are estimates.
Monthly savings	Estimated goal date

Your savings milestones

Required-contribution plan, including the initial balance and final target date. Values are estimates in US dollars.
Date	Total contributions	Interest	Balance	Goal at this date

How much should I save each month?

Start with the amount you need, subtract the future value of savings you already have, and spread the remaining goal across your monthly deposits and their estimated interest. This monthly savings calculator rounds the required deposit up to the next cent so ordinary display rounding does not leave the plan short.

APY and monthly growth

For APY a expressed as a decimal, the monthly growth rate is i = (1+a)^(1/12) − 1. APY is an effective annual yield; dividing APY by 12 would overstate the equivalent monthly rate.

Let N be the number of monthly deposit dates on or before your deadline and t be the elapsed number of months, including a fractional final month. With existing savings P and future goal G, the monthly deposit is C = max(0, (G − P×(1+i)^t) / A), where A = ((1+i)^N − 1) / i × (1+i)^(t−N). When APY is zero, A = N.

Dates, deposits and inflation

Each monthly deposit uses the original start-day anniversary. A January 31 start deposits on February 28 (or 29), then March 31. For partial months, elapsed days between adjacent anniversaries determine the fraction. Twelve monthly anniversaries represent one year. This is an equal-month projection, not a bank's exact daily interest-crediting method.

If inflation adjustment is enabled, G = target × (1+inflation)^(t/12). Each alternative completion date is checked against the inflation-adjusted goal at that date, rather than a fixed future goal. Completion dates show monthly checkpoints, not the earliest intramonth day. The search is limited to 100 years and the supported calendar ending in 2199.

What if my deadline is before the first monthly deposit?

A monthly contribution cannot fund that deadline. If existing savings and interest are insufficient, the calculator shows the estimated one-time amount needed today instead. That extra deposit is not silently included in the savings milestones.

What does a shortfall mean?

A shortfall is the difference between the goal at your deadline and the estimated balance from your planned monthly contribution. Increasing deposits, extending the deadline or reducing the goal can change the result. Higher assumed yields are not guaranteed.

What if I already have enough saved?

The required contribution is zero if your existing savings and expected interest can cover the goal at your deadline. With inflation, enough money today does not always mean enough purchasing power later.

Further reading: SEC Investor.gov savings goal calculator and CFPB explanation of compound interest.