Savings plan calculator

It answers the most direct savings question: if I put this much aside every month, how much will I have in x years?

Set the return to zero to see pure savings with no growth.

Each monthly contribution compounds from the month it goes in until the end of the term. The initial savings compound over the whole period.

Compound interest takes time to show

The savings curve is deceptive: in the early years almost all the growth is your own contribution, and the return looks insignificant. The effect accelerates later, when interest starts earning interest. That is why starting early matters more than contributing heavily: ten years of head start is hard to make up with size.

Inflation eats part of the result

Capital growing at four per cent a year with inflation at three per cent gains only one per cent of purchasing power. When planning long term, reason in real terms, net of inflation, rather than nominal figures that flatter a twenty-year projection.

Regular contributions versus a lump sum

Spreading investment over time reduces the risk of entering at a bad moment, although historically investing everything at once has returned slightly more on average. The choice depends more on your tolerance for watching falls than on the arithmetic.

This is not financial advice

The calculator projects a constant return, and real markets do not behave that way. It is useful for getting a sense of the order of magnitude, not for deciding where to put your money.