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.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
SuperGlobalCalculator is independently built and maintained. See how we build and verify our calculators.