Savings Goal Calculator
Calculate how much you need to save monthly to reach your savings goal.
Enter target amount, timeline, and current savings.
A savings goal calculator tells you how much to save per month to reach a target amount by a specific date, accounting for interest earned along the way.
The core formulas:
Monthly savings needed (no interest): Monthly amount = (Goal − Current savings) / Months remaining
Monthly savings with compound interest: M = FV × r / ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1)
Where:
- M = monthly payment needed
- FV = future value goal
- r = monthly interest rate (annual rate / 12)
- n = number of months
Worked examples:
Example 1 — House deposit, no interest: Goal: £25,000 in 3 years (36 months), currently have £5,000. Monthly needed = (£25,000 − £5,000) / 36 = £555.56/month
Example 2 — Same goal with 4% annual interest: Monthly rate = 0.04/12 = 0.00333 M = 20,000 × 0.00333 / ((1.00333)³⁶ − 1) M = 66.67 / (1.1272 − 1) M = 66.67 / 0.1272 = £524/month
Interest saves about £31/month — saving £1,116 in total over 3 years.
Example 3 — Retirement savings: Target £500,000 in 30 years (360 months), current savings £20,000, 7% annual return. This is more complex — use the FV formula: Existing £20,000 grows to: £20,000 × 1.07³⁰ = £152,245 Still need: £500,000 − £152,245 = £347,755 from monthly contributions Monthly needed ≈ £258
Key insight: Starting earlier dramatically reduces monthly contributions needed. Waiting 10 years to start saving can require nearly double the monthly amount to reach the same goal, due to lost compound growth.