Savings Goal Calculator
Pick a goal, a deadline and your account's APY — get the exact monthly deposit that lands you there.
The math behind the monthly number
With interest, each deposit grows until the deadline, so the required monthly amount is a future-value annuity solve — not just goal ÷ months:
Worked example
Goal $15,000 in 24 months, starting with $2,000 at 4% APY: your $2,000 grows to about $2,166 on its own, and the remaining gap needs about $514/month — the account’s interest quietly contributes several hundred dollars of the goal.
Making the number happen
- Automate on payday. A standing transfer the morning your paycheck lands beats 24 months of remembering. Biweekly earners: split the monthly figure across checks (the per-week line above helps).
- Park it in a high-yield savings account. Online HYSAs have recently paid around ~4% APY versus ~0.4% at typical brick-and-mortar banks — on this example that difference alone is worth hundreds of dollars.
- Match the vehicle to the deadline: under ~3 years, stay in cash-like accounts (HYSA, money market, CDs, T-bills). Market investments are for goals long enough to ride out a bad year — a 2-year house down payment doesn’t qualify.
- Separate accounts per goal (or use bank “buckets”) — visible progress is the strongest known motivator for actually finishing.
Common goals to plug in
Emergency fund (see the dedicated calculator), house down payment, car replacement fund (beats a car loan in reverse), wedding, vacation-without-a-credit-card-hangover, insurance deductibles, next year’s property taxes for escrow-less owners, and holiday spending funds.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to save per month for $10,000 in a year?
About $817/month at 4% APY (the interest covers roughly $200 of the goal) — or $833 in a no-interest account. Halve the pace to 24 months and it drops to about $400/month.
Should I count the APY at all — rates change, right?
HYSA rates float with the Fed, so treat the interest as a tailwind, not a plan. For short goals the difference is modest; entering a conservative APY (or 0) simply means you finish slightly early if rates hold.
Is it better to save monthly or dump lump sums when I can?
Whatever you’ll actually sustain — but automated monthly transfers have the best completion record because they remove the decision. Lump-sum extras (tax refunds, bonuses) then shorten the timeline; recompute here whenever one lands.
Where should short-term savings NOT go?
Stocks and stock funds (a 20% dip the month before your deadline is a real risk), long CDs with withdrawal penalties beyond your date, and crypto. Deadline money wants boring: HYSA, money market funds, T-bills laddered to the date.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-20 · Report an issue