Work out what to save each month, what you will end up with, or how long it takes.
Example Result
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The calculated result will appear here after you press Calculate.
Estimates for planning only; not financial, tax or investment advice. See our Disclaimer.
A savings goal has four numbers: the target, what you have now, the monthly amount and the time. Give the calculator three of them and it finds the fourth. Pick a mode to see the monthly amount you need, the balance you will reach, or the months it will take. Rates are annual, and interest is added monthly.
Pick what you want to find: the monthly amount, the final balance, or the time.
Enter what you have now and the annual interest rate.
Fill in the remaining fields and press Calculate.
By O.E. — Partner, chairman of the board and CEO of a metal products manufacturer for 21 years; the company exports to 45 countries.
Drafted with AI assistance; calculations checked against primary sources and tested with the site's own code. About FlowUtil
Last reviewed
You have $5,000, you want $30,000 in 36 months, and the account pays 4%.
The answer is $638.10 a month. You put in $27,971.59 in total, and interest supplies the other $2,028.41. Simple division would say $694.44, which ignores the interest.
Keep the same $30,000 target and $5,000 start, and change one thing at a time.
| Annual rate (36 months) | Monthly amount |
|---|---|
| 0% | $694.44 |
| 2% | $666.06 |
| 4% | $638.10 |
| 5% | $624.27 |
| Months (at 4%) | Monthly amount |
|---|---|
| 24 | $985.62 |
| 36 | $638.10 |
| 48 | $464.48 |
| 60 | $360.41 |
Going from 2% to 5% saves about $42 a month. Adding a year saves about $174. If the monthly figure is too high, moving the date usually does more than chasing a better rate.
Sometimes you know the amount, not the target. Start with $5,000 and add $500 a month at 4%, and after 36 months you have $24,727.14. If the goal is still $30,000, that pace gets there in month 45. At $700 a month, it takes 34 months.
For the same maths over decades, try the compound interest calculator.
The answer assumes a fixed rate, deposits at the end of each month, and interest added monthly. Three adjustments can change it.
None of these moves the result by much, so round up and stop worrying about it.
A goal priced today will cost more later. If that $30,000 is a car or a kitchen and prices rise 3% a year, the target after three years is $32,782, and the monthly amount becomes $710.96. The inflation calculator gives you the higher figure to enter.
The nearer the deadline, the less time you have to recover from a fall. A share fund can be down in the very month you need it. Bank deposits do not have that risk. FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each ownership category. A goal such as a safety cushion has its own sizing rule, covered by the emergency fund calculator.
If your question is how long savings will last once you start spending them, that is a different calculation. The retirement withdrawal calculator handles it.