Savings Goal Calculator

Working backwards from a target

Most savings advice starts with an amount to put aside and hopes it adds up. This works the other way: fix the goal and the deadline, and solve for the monthly contribution needed to get there.

With no interest, that's just (target − saved) ÷ months. With interest, it's the future value of an annuity rearranged to solve for the payment, which is what this calculator does.

Three levers, no fourth

If the monthly figure comes out uncomfortably high, there are exactly three things you can change:

1. Lower the target. Often the honest answer — the number was aspirational.
2. Extend the deadline. Six extra months makes a surprising difference.
3. Contribute more. Which usually means finding it elsewhere in the budget.

Hoping for a higher return isn't a fourth lever. Over the short horizons most savings goals use, expected return is close to noise.

Where to keep the money

Match the account to the timeline:

• Under a year — instant-access savings. Capital safety beats return.
• One to three years — fixed-term deposits or short bonds, if you can lock it away.
• Over five years — investing becomes reasonable, accepting that the balance will fall along the way.

Anything with a fixed date within a couple of years should not be in the stock market. The whole point of a deadline is that you can't wait for a recovery.

Automate the transfer

The single most effective change is making the contribution automatic on payday. Money that never reaches the current account doesn't have to survive contact with the rest of the month.