How much do I need to save a month to reach my goal?
Type the amount you want, when you want it and the return you expect. The answer is what to put away every month, and how much of the goal your money earns on its own.
All inputs
Your answer
To have €20,000 in 5 years, save about €279 a month.
- €279 a monthSave every monthfor 5 years
- €16,761You put inincluding what you already have
- €3,239Interest addsmoney your money earns on its own
Based on 7% a year with interest added monthly and deposits at the end of each month, before inflation, fees and tax. An estimate, not a promise.
Want fees, tax, inflation or a different compounding? The full calculator opens with the same numbers.
Illustration only, not investment advice. Assumes a steady return; real returns vary.
How the monthly amount is worked out
The calculator solves the compound interest formula for the payment: it looks for the monthly amount that, together with what you already have and the interest both earn, reaches the goal exactly at the end of the period. It is the same maths a bank uses for a savings plan, only in reverse.
Interest does more of the work the longer you save. For a goal five years away most of the money is your own deposits; for one twenty years away a large share comes from growth, which is why starting early lowers the monthly amount so much.
The return is the big unknown. Savings accounts pay a fixed, low rate; broad stock index funds have returned around 7% a year over long periods but swing a lot from year to year. Money needed on a fixed date is often planned with a lower rate, because a market return can fall short in the years that matter.
Questions and answers
How much do I need to save each month to reach a goal?
Divide the goal by the number of months, then let interest lower the amount. 20,000 in 5 years with no interest means 333 a month; at 4% a year it is about 302 a month, because the early deposits earn interest for the rest of the period. The calculator solves this exactly, with deposits at the end of each month, and the full calculator shows the same plan year by year.
What matters more, the time or the rate?
Over short periods, the time. 100,000 in 10 years at 7% needs about 578 a month; in 20 years it needs about 192 a month, a third of that, because interest does more of the work. Doubling the rate helps far less than doubling the years, and a rate is a guess while the years are a choice. The Rule of 72 shows how long doubling takes at each rate.
What if I already have some savings?
Enter them as the starting amount. The calculator first lets that amount grow on its own and only asks the monthly deposits to cover the rest. 10,000 today at 7% becomes about 40,387 in 20 years, so a 100,000 goal then needs about 114 a month instead of 192. If the start alone reaches the goal, the answer is 0 a month.
Which rate should I enter?
The rate the money is likely to earn where it sits: a savings account rate for cash, a long-run average for an index fund, after fees. A fixed rate from a bank is known in advance; a market return is not, so for goals a few years away many people run the calculator with a lower rate too and plan for that result. Past returns do not promise future ones.
How long will it take to save for a goal?
Try different numbers of years until the monthly amount fits what you can put away. For a 20,000 goal at 7%, 4 years needs about 362 a month, 5 years about 279 and 6 years about 224. Without interest the same goal at 300 a month takes 20,000 ÷ 300, about 67 months.