Savings Goal Calculator
Find the monthly contribution needed to hit a savings goal, or project your future balance from current savings and a monthly contribution.
How to Use
- Choose whether you want to find the contribution needed to hit a goal, or project the balance a plan you already have in mind will reach — from the options above the form.
- For "Required monthly contribution," enter your target amount, any current savings, an interest rate (0 is fine), and how many years you have.
- For "Future balance," enter your current savings, rate, time, and monthly contribution — optionally add a target amount to see whether that plan meets it, with a surplus or shortfall.
- Both modes assume monthly compounding and a contribution added once a month, the standard way savings accounts actually work.
Formula
- Monthly rate
- monthly_rate = annual_rate ÷ 100 ÷ 12
- Future balance
- balance = current × (1 + monthly_rate)^n + contribution × (((1 + monthly_rate)^n − 1) ÷ monthly_rate)
- Required monthly contribution
- contribution = (target − current × (1 + monthly_rate)^n) ÷ (((1 + monthly_rate)^n − 1) ÷ monthly_rate)
Worked Example
A $10,000 goal, $1,000 already saved, 5% annual rate, 5 years to reach it.
- Months: 5 × 12 = 60
- Monthly rate: 5 ÷ 100 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.004167
- Required monthly contribution ≈ $128.17
- Total contributed (including current savings): $1,000 + $128.17 × 60 ≈ $8,690.47
- Interest earned by the target date: $10,000 − $8,690.47 ≈ $1,309.53
Result: Required monthly contribution: $128.17 / Total you'll have contributed: $8,690.47 / Interest earned: $1,309.53
About This Tool
What this tool does
This calculator solves a savings goal two ways: it finds the monthly contribution needed to hit a target amount by a given date, or it projects the future balance a current-savings-plus-monthly-contribution plan will actually reach — optionally checking that projection against a target.
When to use it
Use "Required monthly contribution" when you know your goal and deadline and want to know what to save each month. Use "Future balance" when you already have a savings plan in mind and want to know where it lands, or whether it's enough to hit a specific goal.
What the result means
In "Required monthly contribution" mode, if your current savings alone are already projected to reach the goal, the required contribution is $0.00 rather than a negative number — the result then shows your projected balance and surplus instead. In "Future balance" mode, an optional target amount is compared against the projected balance to show a clear surplus or shortfall.
Assumptions & limitations
This tool always assumes monthly compounding and a contribution added once at the end of every month — the standard model for a regular savings account, but not necessarily how every account actually compounds. A 0% interest rate is fully supported and handled correctly (pure linear savings, no growth beyond deposits). This is a projection tool for planning purposes only, not financial advice, and it does not account for account fees, taxes on interest, or inflation.