Savings Calculator
Calculate how your savings will grow over time with regular contributions and compound interest.
Plan your financial goals.
Personal savings goal and timeline calculations project how long it will take to reach a target savings amount, or how much you need to save per period to hit a goal by a specific date. These calculations use the future value of periodic payments (annuity formula) when contributions are made regularly.
Future value of regular contributions formula: FV = PMT × [((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r]
Monthly contribution needed to reach a goal: PMT = FV × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1)
Time to reach goal (solving for n): n = log(1 + (FV × r ÷ PMT)) ÷ log(1 + r)
Where:
- FV = future value (savings goal amount)
- PMT = regular periodic contribution (monthly, weekly, etc.)
- r = interest rate per period (annual rate ÷ 12 for monthly)
- n = number of periods (months)
If starting with an existing balance (lump sum + contributions): FV = PV × (1+r)^n + PMT × [((1+r)^n − 1) ÷ r]
Where PV = present value (existing savings balance)
High-yield savings account rates (2024):
- Traditional bank savings: 0.01–0.50% APY
- High-yield savings (online): 4.50–5.25% APY
- 6-month CD: 5.00–5.40% APY
- 12-month CD: 4.80–5.20% APY
Worked example: Goal: Save $20,000 for a home down payment. Starting balance: $5,000. Monthly contribution: $500. High-yield savings rate: 5.0% APY (0.4167% per month).
FV = $5,000 × (1.004167)^n + $500 × [((1.004167)^n − 1) ÷ 0.004167] = $20,000
Solving numerically: at n = 24 months (2 years), FV ≈ $5,524 + $12,607 = $18,131 (not enough) At n = 28 months: FV ≈ $5,619 + $14,826 = $20,445 — goal reached in approximately 2 years and 4 months.
Without interest: ($20,000 − $5,000) ÷ $500 = 30 months. Interest saves approximately 1.6 months.