This free Savings Goal Calculator helps you plan exactly how much you need to save per month (or week) to reach a target amount by a deadline — with optional interest. It’s built for quick planning, clean screenshots, and sharing your goal with accountability buddies. No signup. 100% free.
Choose what you want to solve for: (1) how much you must save each period, or (2) how long it will take with your current savings amount. Add an interest rate if your money sits in a high-yield savings account, CD, or any account earning a steady return.
A savings goal is just a future value problem. You start with an initial amount (your current savings), you add contributions each period, and your balance may grow from interest. The calculator uses standard time value of money math to connect those pieces. You can use it in two ways: calculate the required contribution for a deadline, or calculate the time to goal for a given contribution.
The calculator converts APY into a per-period interest rate based on your contribution frequency.
If you contribute monthly, the period rate is roughly r = APY / 12 (as a decimal).
Weekly uses APY / 52, and bi-weekly uses APY / 26.
This is a practical planning approximation that matches how many people budget, and it keeps the math
intuitive and fast.
When you know your goal, your starting balance, your interest rate, and your number of periods, the contribution per period is derived from the future value of an annuity:
FV = PV·(1+r)^n + PMT·((1+r)^n − 1)/r
PMT = (FV − PV·(1+r)^n) · r / ((1+r)^n − 1)
If r = 0 (no interest), the formula becomes simple: PMT = (FV − PV) / n.
If you already know how much you can save each period, we solve the same model for n.
Rearranging the equation gives:
(1+r)^n = (FV + PMT/r) / (PV + PMT/r)
n = ln((FV + PMT/r)/(PV + PMT/r)) / ln(1+r)
Again, if r = 0, then it’s linear: n = (FV − PV) / PMT.
Finally, the calculator estimates your total contributions and interest earned for a simple “where did the money come from?” breakdown. That’s useful for motivation: when you see interest doing some of the work, it becomes easier to stay consistent.
These examples show the two main ways people use a savings goal calculator. You can paste the numbers into the tool above to verify the result.
With interest, your required monthly contribution is lower than the no-interest case. Without interest, you’d need about ($10,000 − $1,500) / 18 ≈ $472.22/month. With APY, the calculator accounts for growth along the way — the exact result depends on compounding assumptions, but the direction is always the same: interest helps, especially over longer timelines.
With no interest, the math is linear: you need $4,500 more. At $75/week, that’s 60 weeks (about 13.8 months). If you earn interest, the timeline shrinks slightly — and your “interest earned” line becomes a nice bonus.
Many people fail goals because their plan is too tight. If the calculator says “$283.41/month,” choose nearest $10 rounding and save $290/month. That small buffer covers timing differences, missed weeks, and real-life turbulence — without feeling like a huge sacrifice.
A vacation fund is usually short-term. An emergency fund is ongoing. For short-term goals, contributions matter more than APY. For longer-term goals, APY matters more. Use the frequency dropdown (weekly vs monthly) to match how you actually save.
The calculator gives you the math. The secret is turning that math into a habit you can keep even when motivation drops. Here’s the practical way to use the results so you actually reach the goal.
“Save more money” is vague. “Save $3,000 for a laptop by June” is specific. Specific goals reduce decision fatigue. They also make the share buttons useful: you can send your plan to a friend, partner, or group chat as a lightweight accountability move.
If you get paid bi-weekly, choose bi-weekly contributions. If you are a freelancer or your income is irregular, you can still use monthly planning, but consider saving weekly when money comes in. Consistency beats perfection.
The most reliable savings strategy is removing decision-making. Set an automatic transfer to a separate savings account right after payday. If the money never sits in your spending account, you won’t “accidentally” spend it.
Visual reminders work. Take a screenshot of the result box and set it as your phone wallpaper for a week, or pin it in a notes app. The meter on this page is intentionally simple: it turns the goal into a progress bar, which nudges your brain toward completion.
If your goal changes (price increases, timeline shifts, income changes), rerun the numbers. A savings plan should be “living math,” not a one-time guess.
A savings goal calculator estimates how much you must save periodically to reach a target amount by a deadline, or how long it will take to reach your target with a specific periodic contribution. It’s a structured way to turn a wish (“I want $10,000”) into a plan (“I’ll save $X each month”).
Include APY if your savings earns interest and you expect it to be reasonably stable during your timeline. For very short goals (a few months), APY barely changes the result. For longer goals (a year+), it can help meaningfully.
This calculator assumes contributions occur once per period in a simple end-of-period model. If you contribute earlier, you’ll typically reach the goal slightly faster. If you want to be conservative, keep the default and round up a bit.
This page is designed for savings goals (positive balances). If you are paying down debt, use a payoff or snowball tool. Savings and debt payoff are related but the best formulas and strategies differ.
Because “per period” changes. Weekly savings spreads the same total over more periods, which often feels easier to stick to. The interest rate is also converted per period, so the compounding frequency changes slightly too.
No. This is a planning tool. Taxes and fees vary by account type and country. Inflation changes purchasing power. If you want “real return,” use an inflation-adjusted return calculator.
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MaximCalculator provides simple, user-friendly tools. Always double-check important decisions and avoid relying on a single estimate for major financial commitments.