Savings Goal Calculator
Find out exactly how much to set aside each month to hit your savings target on time.
Save Each Month
/ month
Per Week
$267.41
Per Day
$38.17
'Save more' is not a plan. 'Save $340 a month for 36 months' is. This calculator works backwards from your target and your deadline to the exact monthly number — and it accounts for the interest doing part of the work for you.
Working backwards from the goal
Most savings advice runs forwards: put away what you can and see where you land. That produces vague intentions and no urgency. This runs the other way. You have a target and a date. The maths tells you the monthly figure that gets you there, and that number is either achievable or it is not — in which case you adjust the target or the date, which is a real decision rather than a vague hope. Interest does some of the work. If you already have savings, those grow on their own while you contribute. At a 4% rate over three years, existing savings of $5,000 become $5,637 without you doing anything, which reduces what you need to add. The formula is the annuity equation solved backwards. Instead of asking 'what will my contributions become', it asks 'what contribution produces this result'.
The formula
Current savings grow: FV = PV × (1 + r)^n
Gap = Goal − Grown Current
Monthly Required = Gap ÷ [((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r]
Where:
r = annual rate ÷ 12
n = months to goal
Example: $50k goal, $5k saved, 36 months, 4%
Current grows to $5,637
Gap = $44,363
Monthly = $1,161If your existing savings already grow past the goal on their own, the required contribution is zero — the calculator will tell you rather than quietly returning a negative number.
Actually hitting the target
- 1Automate the transfer for the day you get paid, not the end of the month. Saving what is left over produces nothing, because there is never anything left over. Pay the goal first and live on the rest.
- 2Keep the money somewhere you cannot casually reach. A separate account at a different bank, without a card attached, removes the two-tap impulse that empties a savings pot.
- 3Use a high-yield savings account, not a current account. The difference between 0.1% and 4.5% on $30,000 is $1,320 a year for filling in one form. It is the highest hourly rate you will ever earn.
- 4If the monthly number is impossible, change an input rather than abandoning the plan. Extending 24 months to 36 cuts the monthly figure by a third. A slightly later goal you actually reach beats an ideal one you quit.
- 5Name the account after the goal. 'House Deposit' is materially harder to raid than 'Savings 2'. It sounds trivial and it demonstrably works.
Frequently asked questions
What interest rate should I use?
Whatever your account actually pays — check it rather than assuming. High-yield savings accounts have paid 4–5% recently; standard current accounts pay close to nothing. For goals more than five years out, you might model investment returns instead, but not for anything shorter.
Should I invest my savings goal money?
Under five years, no. The market can be down 30% exactly when you need the deposit, and there is no time to recover. Short-term goals belong in cash. Over ten years, investing generally makes sense. Between five and ten is a judgement call about how firm the date is.
Why does the calculator sometimes say zero?
Because your existing savings, growing at the rate you entered, already exceed the goal by your deadline. No further contributions are needed — the compounding does it for you.
Is monthly better than weekly saving?
The difference in outcome is negligible. What matters is that it happens automatically and consistently. Match it to your pay schedule — if you are paid weekly, save weekly.
Does this account for inflation?
No. If your goal is far out, $50,000 in ten years buys less than $50,000 today. For long-horizon goals, either raise the target or subtract inflation from your assumed rate to see it in real terms.