Savings goal
calculator
A goal, a deadline, a starting balance: what must you put away each month? Or flip it — at your current pace, when do you arrive? Both answers include the interest working alongside you.
Working a goal backwards
Saving toward a target is a future-value problem in reverse: the goal, minus what your existing balance will grow to, is what monthly deposits must build. Interest shrinks the required deposit — modestly over short horizons, dramatically over long ones.
Monthly needed ≈ $464.77 — interest covers the rest.
Making it stick
The mechanics are the easy half. What works in practice: automate the transfer on payday so the goal is paid first, keep the money in a separate high-yield account (out of sight, earning the rate you entered), and break long goals into yearly checkpoints. For where saving turns into investing over longer horizons, the retirement calculator picks up the thread.
Savings goal FAQ
Subtract what your current balance will grow to from the goal, then spread the shortfall over the months using the annuity formula. $20,000 in 3 years from $2,000 at 4% needs about $465 a month.
Modestly. Over 2–3 years at savings rates it trims the required deposit by a few percent. Over 10+ years it does a large share of the work — which is why starting early beats saving hard late.
Short-horizon money usually belongs in a high-yield savings account or similar — earning steady interest without market risk right before you need it. Longer horizons can justify investing; that's a risk decision, not just math.
Three levers: extend the deadline, trim the goal, or raise the rate safely. Flip to the time-to-goal tab to see what your affordable amount achieves.