Savings Goal Calculator
With target amount 60000 usd, saved so far 12000 usd, years to get there 5 years, annual return 4 percent, savings goal comes to $683.99 — monthly contribution needed. It is reached in 5 steps, the last of which is 45348.041 * 0.0033333 / (1.2209966 - 1), and each one is printed on the page with its numbers filled in. The formula is the one published by SEC Investor.gov, not an approximation fitted to it.
The monthly contribution needed to reach a target by a date, given what you have saved already.
Formula and sources checked · How we check
Target amount 60000, Saved so far 12000, Years to get there 5 years, Annual return 4
$683.99
Monthly contribution needed for the example below. Editing a field recomputes the calculator below; this figure holds the answer the page was loaded with.
It is written into the HTML rather than drawn by a script, so a search engine reading this page without running JavaScript still finds an answer.
- Months
5 * 1260 months- What you already have becomes
12000 * 1.220996614,651.959- Still to fund
max(60000 - 14651.959, 0)45,348.041- Monthly contribution needed
45348.041 * 0.0033333 / (1.2209966 - 1)683.993- Total you will contribute
683.99306 * 6041,039.584
Progress to the goal
The curve bends upward as interest starts to carry part of the load — which is why starting earlier costs less per month than saving harder later.
| Year | Contributed | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $8,207.92 | $641.06 | $20,848.98 |
| Year 2 | $8,207.92 | $1,001.58 | $30,058.48 |
| Year 3 | $8,207.92 | $1,376.79 | $39,643.19 |
| Year 4 | $8,207.92 | $1,767.29 | $49,618.39 |
| Year 5 | $8,207.92 | $2,173.69 | $60,000.00 |
The table above groups the 60 months into 5. The amortisation schedule prints every one of them, with the split between interest and principal.
Worked example
A $60,000 down payment in five years, starting from $12,000 at 4%: the existing savings grow to $14,650, leaving $45,350 to fund at $684/mo. You contribute $41,040 of that and interest covers the rest.
How to work it out yourself
- 1.Set the target and the date. The calculator solves for the deposit, not the balance, so the answer is what to pay in each month rather than what you end up with.
- 2.Enter what you already hold. It keeps compounding while you save, so on a long horizon it does more of the work than the deposits do.
- 3.The rate matters far less than the horizon. Doubling the years roughly halves the monthly deposit; doubling the return barely moves it, because most of a short plan is your own money.
The formula
- Months
5 * 12 - What you already have becomes
12000 * 1.2209966 - Still to fund
max(60000 - 14651.959, 0) - Monthly contribution needed
45348.041 * 0.0033333 / (1.2209966 - 1) - Total you will contribute
683.99306 * 60
Source: SEC Investor.gov — savings goal calculator and guidance, FDIC — deposit account basics
Questions people actually ask
- What return should I assume for a short goal?
- For anything under five years, use a savings account or Treasury rate — 4% or whatever is on offer — not an equity return. A 20% drawdown two months before closing is not a risk you can take with a down payment.
- Why does the money I already have matter so much?
- It compounds for the whole term while new contributions only compound for the months remaining after they arrive. In the example, $12,000 does the work of about $2,650 in contributions purely by sitting there.
- Should the target be in today’s dollars?
- The result is nominal. If the thing you are saving for gets more expensive, raise the target by expected inflation over the term — roughly 3% a year compounds to 16% over five.
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