How much to save each month to reach your goal
The monthly contribution needed to reach an amount within a deadline.
Calculator inputs
Results
Enter your values and press “Calculate” to see the result.
In short
- What it calculates
- The monthly contribution needed to reach an amount within a deadline.
- Formula used
Outstanding = goal − initial savings × (1 + i)^n- Example
- A £12,000 goal in 24 months, with £2,000 saved and 2.5% a year:
Savings goal calculator
A savings goal without a concrete monthly figure rarely happens. Turning “I want to save £12,000” into “I need to set aside £415 a month” changes how you manage it entirely.
If the money sits in an interest-bearing account, that interest reduces the effort.
How it works
What you have already saved is deducted, compounded over the period, and the regular contribution that covers the gap is calculated using the monthly interest rate.
Formula
Outstanding = goal − initial savings × (1 + i)^n
Contribution = outstanding × i ÷ ((1 + i)^n − 1)
Worked example
A £12,000 goal in 24 months, with £2,000 saved and 2.5% a year:
Monthly contribution: about £402
Weekly: about £93
Explanation
Pay yourself first
The technique that works best is not a calculation but an automation: schedule a transfer for the day your salary arrives, before spending anything. Saving whatever is left at month end almost never works, because spending tends to fill the space available.
The emergency fund comes before any goal
Before saving for a holiday or a deposit, build up three to six months of expenses in an immediately accessible product. Without that cushion, any surprise forces you to unwind savings at the wrong moment or turn to expensive credit.
Horizon and risk go together
For a goal under three years, the priority is not losing capital, so conservative products make sense even if they return little. Over twenty years, staying in cash guarantees losing purchasing power to inflation. The horizon determines what counts as prudent.
When the numbers do not work
There are only three levers: contribute more, extend the timeframe or lower the target. If the calculation demands an impossible contribution, adjusting the timeframe from the outset beats abandoning the plan after three months.
Frequently asked questions
What if I cannot manage that figure?
There are only three levers: extend the deadline, lower the goal or raise the contribution. The calculator lets you test combinations in seconds.
Is the interest worth it?
Over short periods it barely matters; beyond five years compound interest starts to make a real difference.
What should I save for first?
An emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in an immediately accessible product. Without it, any surprise breaks every other plan.
What if the required contribution is unaffordable?
Adjust the timeframe or the target from the start. A realistic plan you keep beats an ambitious one you abandon.
Need to calculate something else?
These tools are often used alongside this calculator.
Savings
How much you will accumulate by saving a fixed amount every month for several years.
Compound interest
See what your money becomes with regular contributions and reinvested interest.
Investment
Future value of an investment and what it is really worth after inflation.
Inflation
What your money will be worth in a few years at a given inflation rate.
Split the bill
What everyone pays, tip included, with optional rounding.
Pomodoro
Sessions, breaks and the real time a task will take.