Savings Goal Planner

Free savings goal calculator: see exactly when you will hit your target, or the monthly deposit needed to reach it by a deadline.

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How the savings goal planner works

This planner answers two questions. First: given a target, a starting balance, a monthly deposit, and an interest rate (APY), when will you reach your goal? Second — and this is the reverse problem most tools skip — if you have a deadline, exactly how much do you need to deposit each month to hit the goal on time? It grows your balance month by month, adding your deposit and the interest it earns, until it crosses the target.

For the deadline calculation, it uses the future-value-of-an-annuity formula, solved for the payment:

PMT = (FV − PV × (1 + r)^n) × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1)

PMT is the required monthly deposit, FV is your goal, PV is what you have saved, r is the monthly rate derived from your APY, and n is the number of months until your deadline.

Why give a savings goal a deadline

A goal without a date is a wish. Attaching a concrete month turns "someday" into a plan you can act on, and it makes the trade-offs visible: raise the monthly deposit and the finish line jumps closer; lower it and the date slides out. Watching that relationship is often the nudge people need to save a little more.

A $20,000 emergency fund

Suppose you want a $20,000 emergency fund, you have $3,000 saved, and you can put away $400 a month in an account paying 4.25% APY. The planner shows you will get there in a little over three years. But if you need it in two years for a specific reason, it tells you the exact deposit required instead — roughly $670 a month — so you know upfront whether the deadline is realistic.

Tips for hitting your goal

Automate the deposit for the day after payday, so the money moves before you can spend it.
Use APY, not APR. Savings accounts quote APY, which already includes compounding — that is the figure that reflects what you will actually earn.
Keep goal money liquid and safe. A high-yield savings account is ideal for short-term goals; you do not want a market dip to hit money you need soon.
Revisit after a raise. Increasing the deposit even slightly can pull your target date forward by months.

Limitations

The planner assumes a constant APY and steady deposits. Real savings rates change over time, and life interrupts even the best savings plans. Treat the timeline as a well-founded estimate and re-run it whenever your rate or budget changes. To decide how large an emergency fund should be, see how big should your emergency fund be?

Frequently asked questions

How do I set a realistic savings goal?

Start from a concrete target and a deposit you can sustain every month. Enter both above and the planner returns an exact finish date. If the date is too far out, raise the deposit and watch it move.

What does the deadline field do?

Enter a number of months and the planner solves the problem in reverse: it calculates the exact monthly deposit required to hit your goal by that deadline, accounting for interest earned along the way.

Should I use APY or APR here?

Use APY. Savings accounts quote APY, which already includes the effect of compounding, so it reflects what you will actually earn.