Savings goal calculator
What to save each month to hit a target by a date.
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How it's calculated
Money already saved grows at the monthly rate for the whole period, so it covers part of the goal on its own; the rest has to come from monthly deposits, each growing from the month it goes in. The payment that closes the gap is the standard annuity formula run backwards: the remaining gap times the monthly rate, divided by the growth of a one-unit monthly deposit over the period. The second answer flips it round: given what you can actually save each month, the time to reach the goal comes from the logarithm of the ratio of ending to starting balances, each plus the deposit over the rate.
How much do I need to save a month to have $20,000 in three years?
Starting from $2,000 at 4%, about $463 a month; from zero, about $524. Interest contributes around $1,300 over the three years. At 0% the figures are $500 and $556, so the rate helps but the deposits do the work on short goals.
Does the interest rate matter for short goals?
Not much under five years: a point of rate changes a three-year monthly figure by about 1.5%. It matters far more over ten or twenty years, where compounding does half the work. For short goals, chase the saving rate, not the interest rate.
Where should I keep savings for a goal a few years away?
Somewhere boring: a high-yield savings account, a money market fund or a CD ladder matching the date. Stocks can be down 20–30% in the year you need the money. Keep the goal money separate from the emergency fund so one does not raid the other.
Results are estimates for informational purposes only and are not financial, medical or legal advice.