How this calculator works
Required monthly = (goal − future value of current savings) × i / ((1+i)^n − 1), where i is the monthly rate and n the months to your deadline. Set rate to 0 for a cash goal under a mattress.
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Savings Goal Calculator — How Much Per Month?
Pick a goal and a deadline; the calculator tells you what to set aside each month, accounting for the interest your savings earn along the way.
Scenario examples (2026 rates)
| Goal amount ($) | Monthly savings needed |
|---|---|
| 15,000 | $333.81 |
| 22,500 | $530.24 |
| 30,000 | $726.67 |
| 45,000 | $1,119.53 |
| 60,000 | $1,512.39 |
Every number above is computed by the same in-browser engine as the calculator — nothing is hardcoded.
How the required monthly amount is solved
The calculator inverts the future-value annuity formula. Your goal must equal the grown value of what you have already saved plus the grown value of every future contribution: goal = current × (1+i)^n + monthly × ((1+i)^n − 1)/i, with i the monthly rate and n the months to the deadline. Rearranged, required monthly = (goal − future value of current savings) × i / ((1+i)^n − 1). Two behaviors of that formula are worth internalizing. Contributions made early in the window do more work than late ones, because each compounds for more months, so a lump sum applied today is worth more than the same amount added in the final year. And the relationship between horizon and required monthly is convex, not linear: halving the time more than doubles the monthly requirement for long goals. Plug in a rate of zero and the formula degrades gracefully to (goal − current) ÷ months, the mattress math. That dual behavior, deadline sensitivity and contribution timing, is the whole strategy space this tool exposes.
Matching the investment to the deadline
The rate field is a promise you are assuming, so the asset behind it must be able to keep it. Money needed inside three years belongs in insured cash instruments: HYSA around 4 percent, CDs or T-bills locking similar rates, all FDIC-insured to $250,000 per depositor per bank or backed by the Treasury. The reason is drawdown risk, not yield: a 20 percent stock decline in the year you need the down payment does not recover on your schedule, and no historical average helps a fixed deadline. Between three and five years, a conservative mix, say 80 percent cash instruments and 20 percent index funds, trims the ceiling but keeps most of the floor. Beyond five years, goals like a later home purchase or education funding can carry a majority-equity mix and be modeled at 5 to 7 percent. Re-check the assumption yearly: when the Fed moves rates, HYSA yields move within weeks, and a plan built at 4 percent in a falling-rate environment quietly underdelivers unless you raise the monthly figure.
Automating the plan so it survives real life
The failure mode of savings goals is not math but attention: manual transfers pause in busy months and never resume. Structure beats intent. Schedule an automatic transfer for the day after payday, sized to the calculator output rounded up to the nearest $25, into a separate account at a different institution than your checking, so the money is out of sight and one business day away rather than instant. Label the account with the goal and its date; named accounts get raided far less often. Build in a windfall rule in advance, such as half of any bonus or refund going straight to the goal, which lets you beat the deadline without raising the baseline. Review quarterly, not monthly: if the rate you assumed has fallen, top up the monthly amount by the difference the calculator now shows. When the goal is within 12 months, move the balance fully into insured cash regardless of what the rate field says, because the last thing a finished plan needs is a market surprise at the finish line.
FAQ
Where should goal money sit?
Under ~3 years: HYSA or money market (4%+ in 2026). Longer horizons can take some index-fund risk, but never money you need on a fixed date.
What rate should I enter?
A HYSA currently pays around 4%. If you'll keep the goal in cash, use that; use 0 if you don't want interest assumptions.
How much of my goal will interest cover at different horizons?
At the calculator default 4 percent annual rate, a three-year horizon lets interest carry only a small share: reaching $30,000 with $2,000 already saved requires about $727 per month, and interest supplies barely $600 of the final balance, roughly 2 percent. Stretch the same goal to ten years and interest covers nearly a quarter of it, because each contribution compounds for far longer. The practical threshold: under three years, treat the rate as a rounding error and plan around contributions; over five years, the rate assumption genuinely matters and a one-point error moves the required monthly amount by several percent. Enter zero if you want a pure cash plan, or a realistic HYSA or CD rate for money that will sit insured until the deadline.
Should I use a HYSA, CDs, or Treasuries for goal money?
Match the vehicle to the deadline. High-yield savings pays around 4 percent in 2026, rates float and can fall with the Fed, and money is available same-day. Certificates of deposit lock a rate for 3 to 24 months, often a few tenths above HYSA, but early withdrawal costs a few months of interest. Treasury bills are exempt from state and local income tax, worth about half a point of effective yield for residents of California or New York, and run in 4 to 52-week terms. Series I bonds floor out for goals under a year because they cannot be redeemed before twelve months and forfeit three months of interest before five years. A ladder works well for multi-year goals: keep the next 12 months of contributions in HYSA and hold the rest in maturing CDs or T-bills. All three are principal-safe; equities are not appropriate for money with a fixed deadline inside five years.
What if I can only save half the required amount?
Three levers restore the plan, in order of cost. First, extend the deadline: required monthly scales inversely with months and worse than that once compounding is included, so doubling the horizon roughly halves the monthly figure for goals under five years. On $30,000 with $2,000 saved at 4 percent, six years needs about $380 per month instead of $727 for three. Second, shrink the goal: a $20,000 target at three years drops the requirement to about $480 per month. Third, raise the return only if the horizon justifies it, and five years is the shortest sensible window for any equity exposure, ideally through a broad index fund. What does not work is planning the full amount, funding half, and treating the gap as hypothetical; run the calculator at your real monthly figure and let the output date be honest, then decide whether the later date is acceptable.