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Savings Goal Timeline Calculator

See exactly when you will hit your savings goal.

How it is calculated

The tool solves for the number of months n until your balance reaches the goal. With monthly rate i = annual return ÷ 100 ÷ 12, it uses n = ln((goal + P ÷ i) ÷ (savings + P ÷ i)) ÷ ln(1 + i), where P is the monthly contribution and savings is what you already have. Contributions are assumed to be made at the end of each month, and the return is compounded monthly. With a 0% return it is simply (goal − savings) ÷ P. The answer is fractional, so in practice round it up to whole months. It also shows the same time in years and the total contributed, which is your current savings plus all the monthly deposits. Goal must be greater than current savings, savings cannot be negative, and the monthly contribution must be above zero; an empty field or a return of −100% or lower also gives no result. A negative return above −100% is allowed and lengthens the timeline. Tax, inflation and fees are not included.

Worked example

You want 20000, already have 2000, add 400 a month and assume a 5% annual return. Step 1: monthly rate = 5 ÷ 100 ÷ 12 = 0.4167%. Step 2: put these into the formula: ln((20000 + 96000) ÷ (2000 + 96000)) ÷ ln(1.004167) = 40.6 mo, shown as 3.38 yr. So plan for the 41st deposit. Total contributed is 2,000 + 400 × 40.6 = $18,221.48, and the remaining $1,778.52 of the goal comes from investment growth. At 0% return it would take 45.0 months.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the annual return as a monthly rate. The field is a yearly percentage, so 5 means 5% a year.
  • Using an optimistic return for a short goal. Over a few years a return that is not guaranteed can miss badly, so try 0% as well as your expected rate to see the range.
  • Setting the goal equal to or below the current savings. The goal is already reached, so the tool shows no result; enter a goal above what you already have.
  • Entering yearly savings in the monthly contribution field, or 0 because you plan to add nothing. Contributions are monthly, so 4,800 a year is 400, and a zero contribution gives no result.
  • Forgetting inflation. A goal of 20000 in today's money costs more in several years, so raise the goal if prices matter for what you are buying.

About this calculator

Reaching a savings goal with regular contributions and investment growth is the reverse of a future-value calculation: instead of solving for the ending balance, this calculator solves for how many periods it takes for a starting amount plus regular contributions, compounding at a given rate of return, to reach a target dollar amount.

Because the future-value formula involves an exponential term, this generally requires working backward algebraically rather than a simple division of goal by contribution size — a higher rate of return or a larger regular contribution can dramatically shorten the timeline, which is exactly what this calculator is built to show by comparing different contribution and return scenarios against the same goal.

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