🎯 Savings Goal Calculator
Instead of calculating what your savings eventually become, this calculator flips the question around: how long until you reach a specific savings goal? Enter your current savings, monthly deposit and expected interest rate, and the calculator simulates month by month until your goal is reached. Useful for an emergency fund, a house down payment or a big purchase.
3 years and 7 months
Formula
balance(month n) = balance(month n−1) × (1 + i) + deposit, with i = annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100, until balance ≥ goal
There is no simple formula that directly yields the time when you have both a starting amount and a monthly deposit. Instead, the calculator simulates month by month: each month the balance grows with that month's interest and the new deposit is added, until the goal is reached.
What the variables mean
- doel
- The amount you want to reach
- saldo
- Your savings balance, which grows each month
Steps
- 1Enter your savings goal, current savings and monthly deposit.
- 2Enter the expected annual interest rate.
- 3See after how many months your goal is reached, including the total amount deposited and interest earned.
Time to a € 10,000 goal (starting from € 0, 3% rate)
| Monthly deposit | Months | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| € 100 | 90 | 7 years and 6 months |
| € 200 | 48 | 4 years |
| € 300 | 33 | 2 years and 9 months |
| € 400 | 25 | 2 years and 1 month |
| € 500 | 20 | 1 year and 8 months |
Assumes no starting balance and a 3% annual rate. Increase your deposit or rate and the goal comes into reach sooner.
tips
- Automate the transfer on the day your salary arrives — that prevents "forgetting" to save.
commonMistakes
- Ignoring interest and so overestimating how long it will take.
- Entering an unrealistic monthly deposit that doesn't fit the household budget.
- Forgetting the rate here is assumed fixed, while real savings rates can change over time.
useCases
- Working out when you will have a house down payment saved.
- Building an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of expenses.
- Saving for a holiday, wedding or other big expense with a fixed deadline.