Savings Goal Calculator
How much do you need to save each month to hit your target — a down payment, a trip, an emergency fund — right on schedule?
Enter your numbers
Your results
Required monthly deposit
$0.00
Deposits assumed at the end of each month.
Balance vs goal over time
Your projected balance grows year by year until it meets your goal.
- Projected balance
- Goal
Year-by-year savings schedule
| Year | Deposits | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Compare two scenarios
Same goal, years, and current savings as above — two APYs side by side. Watch how a higher rate shrinks the required deposit.
Scenario A
Scenario B
| Scenario A | Scenario B | B − A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required monthly | — | — | — |
| Total deposits | — | — | — |
| Interest earned | — | — | — |
How it works
Your current savings grow on their own, and the monthly deposit fills the remaining gap. Solving the future-value equation for the payment gives:
Where FV is your goal, PV your current savings, r the monthly rate (APY ÷ 12), and n the number of months. If the APY is 0%, it's simply (FV − PV) ÷ n.
If your current savings alone will already grow past the goal, the required deposit is zero — the calculator will tell you you're already on track.
Pay yourself first
The hardest part of a savings plan is not the math — it's the follow-through. The behavioral trick that works best is automaticity: schedule a transfer to your savings account on payday, before the money can be spent. What you don't see, you don't miss. Automation turns saving from a monthly decision (which willpower eventually loses) into a default you never have to think about. Start with an amount you can barely feel — you can raise it later, and the chart above shows how each extra dollar compounds into a noticeably taller curve.
Where to park a savings goal
The right home for the money depends on the timeline. If the goal is under about 3 years away — a down payment, a wedding, a trip — keep it boring: a high-yield savings account (HYSA) or certificates of deposit (CDs). They are FDIC-insured, the value never goes down, and the cash is there when you need it. Only consider investing for goals 5+ years out, where the higher expected return has time to survive a bad year. The risk is real: a stock-market portfolio can easily drop 20% or more in a single year, which is catastrophic if the money was earmarked for a deadline. Match the vehicle to the timeline, not to your optimism.
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Frequently asked questions
What if I can't afford the monthly deposit shown?
You have three levers: save for longer, start with a larger lump sum, or earn a higher return. Even small increases in the monthly deposit compound significantly over many years.
Should I enter APY or APR?
Enter APY, the annual percentage yield. It already includes the effect of compounding, which matches how savings accounts quote their rates, and this calculator assumes monthly compounding.
Does this account for inflation?
No, the goal is expressed in future dollars. If your target is ten or more years away, consider raising it by about 3 percent per year so it keeps its purchasing power.
Is the result guaranteed?
Only if your account actually pays that APY the whole time. Bank rates change and market investments fluctuate, so treat this as a planning target, not a promise.