Savings goal calculator
How much to set aside each month to hit a number by a date.
APY on your savings
$137.58 a week, or $19.60 a day
6.2% of the goal
Per month, in a shoebox
| Milestone | Amount | Reached in |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | $6,250.00 | 7 months |
| 50% | $12,500.00 | 17 months |
| 75% | $18,750.00 | 27 months |
| 100% | $25,000.00 | 36 months |
How it works
This inverts the future-value formula: instead of asking what a monthly deposit grows into, it asks what deposit is needed to land on a target.
C = (target − present × (1+i)ⁿ) / (((1+i)ⁿ − 1) / i) Interest matters less over short horizons
For a three-year goal at 4%, interest covers only a small slice of the total — the work is done by the deposits. Over fifteen or twenty years the balance flips and growth does most of it. That is why short-term goals belong in safe, boring accounts and long-term ones do not.
Pay yourself first
The single most effective mechanism is an automatic transfer on payday, before the money is available to spend. The figure above is only useful if it leaves the account without requiring a decision each month.