Savings Goal Calculator
Enter your target, what you'll save monthly, and your account's APY — get the real date you hit the goal, with compounding included.
Free, no signup, runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere. Estimates for planning, not financial advice.
How this calculator works
It simulates your balance month by month: each month earns APY/12 in interest, then your contribution lands. That's slightly conservative versus daily compounding but matches how most people reason and is accurate within a few dollars on typical goals. The "vs traditional bank" line runs the identical simulation at 0.4% APY — the FDIC-reported average for branch-bank savings accounts — so you can see what parking the money in the wrong account costs in time.
Making the contribution automatic
The single highest-leverage move is scheduling the transfer for the day after payday — paying yourself first rather than saving the remainder. Behavioral research consistently shows automated savers hit goals at far higher rates than manual savers, because the decision happens once instead of every month. Name the account after the goal ("House down payment") — small, but it measurably reduces raids.
Where to park goal savings
For goals under ~5 years, a high-yield savings account (4.0-4.5% APY at online banks in 2025) or a CD ladder beats investing — the money's job is to exist on a specific date, and a 20% market drawdown the month before you need it defeats the purpose. For goals past 5 years, a diversified index portfolio becomes reasonable; many people split the difference with a glide path, shifting from invested to cash as the date approaches.
Common questions
Should I invest my goal savings instead of using a savings account?
Depends entirely on the timeline. Under 3 years: savings account or CDs, full stop — sequence risk (a crash right before your date) outweighs the expected return gain. Three to five years: mostly cash, perhaps a small invested slice. Past five years: investing a meaningful share is reasonable, shifting toward cash as the date approaches. The pattern to avoid is investing short-term money because the savings rate 'feels slow' — that's how down payments evaporate.
Why is my bank's APY so much lower than 4%?
Branch banks pay ~0.40% on average (FDIC 2025) because their depositors rarely leave; online banks (Ally, Marcus, Capital One 360, SoFi, Discover) pay 4.0-4.5% because rates are how they compete. Same FDIC insurance up to $250,000 either way. On a $10,000 balance the difference is roughly $360-400/year — the highest-paying 15 minutes of account setup available to most savers.
Multiple goals — one account or several?
Several, if your bank supports buckets or you can open multiple HYSAs (most online banks allow this in minutes). Separate named buckets prevent the classic failure where the vacation quietly eats the emergency fund. Fund them in priority order: starter emergency fund, employer-match retirement, high-interest debt, then the discretionary goals — and give each its own automatic transfer so the priorities are enforced by default.
What if I can't hit the contribution every month?
Set the automatic transfer at the floor you can sustain in a bad month, not the average of good ones — consistency compounds better than occasional heroics. Top up manually in strong months. If you do miss a month, skip it and resume; don't double up. The habit research is clear that one missed instance doesn't damage the pattern, but the catch-up spiral often kills it.
Put the number to work in Cash Compass
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