Tool 20 · Savings goal
Name the goal. Get the number.
A house deposit, a sabbatical, a wedding, a car — every goal becomes achievable the moment it's translated into a monthly amount. Set the target and the deadline, and see exactly what to put away, with growth doing part of the work.
Growth contributes $0 of the target.
Cash rates for short goals; investment returns only suit goals 5+ years out.
Pro features. Protect the goal from inflation, add a one-off boost, step your saving up yearly, and export the milestone schedule.
Make the plan robust
Refine the model
A €20,000 goal today costs more by your deadline — aim at the real target.
A bonus or gift added today lowers the monthly amount.
Start lower and grow with your income — the tool solves the starting amount.
Milestones on the way
Compare deadlines
| Deadline | Save per month | Growth does |
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Turning a wish into a number
"We should save for a house deposit" is a wish. "We move €520 into the deposit account on the 1st of every month" is a plan. The entire difference between the two is arithmetic — and it's exactly the arithmetic this calculator does. Give it three things — the target, the deadline, and what you've already put aside — and it solves for the one number that matters: the monthly amount that gets you there on time, accounting for the growth your savings earn along the way.
The maths behind it is the standard future-value formula used by banks and planners: your existing savings compound until the deadline, your monthly deposits each compound from the month they're made, and the tool solves the equation backwards for the deposit. Two things fall out of that immediately. First, time is leverage — doubling your timeline much more than halves the monthly amount, because later years are increasingly funded by growth rather than deposits. Second, the return matters more than it looks, but chasing it is only appropriate for long-dated goals: money you need within a few years belongs in cash savings, where a market dip can't wreck the plan weeks before you need it.
The chart draws your path from today's savings to the goal, marking the moments you cross 25%, 50% and 75%. Those milestones aren't decoration — goals fail from abandonment far more often than from bad maths, and visible progress is the best-known antidote. If your goal is further out and bigger — retirement-sized — graduate to the retirement number calculator; for the general engine underneath, see compound interest.
A worked example
€20,000 goal · 5 years · €2,000 saved · 3% return
Your €2,000 head start grows to about €2,320 by the deadline, leaving €17,680 for deposits and their growth to cover. The formula solves to roughly €273 a month. Of your €20,000 goal, about €1,600 ends up being growth you never deposited. Cut the timeline to 3 years and the monthly jumps to about €473; stretch it to 8 and it falls to about €161 — same goal, very different months.
Things to keep in mind
- Automate it or it won't happen. Set a standing order for the day after payday. A plan that relies on "saving what's left over" reliably saves nothing.
- Match the vehicle to the deadline. Under ~3 years: high-yield cash savings. 3–5 years: cash or very conservative investments. 5+ years: diversified investing becomes reasonable — see investing basics.
- Mind inflation on long goals. A €20,000 goal eight years out will cost more than €20,000 by then. The Pro inflation slider aims you at the real target.
- Separate account, named after the goal. Money labelled "Japan 2028" gets raided far less often than money sitting in a general account.
- One goal at a time beats five at once. If the total monthly across all your goals doesn't fit your budget, rank them and fund the top ones properly — the budget planner shows what's actually available.
Frequently asked questions
Should I save or invest for my goal?
It depends on the deadline. Money needed within about three years should stay in cash savings — a badly-timed market drop could derail the goal. Beyond five years, investing a diversified portion becomes sensible, and the return slider lets you model either.
What return should I use?
Use your actual savings-account rate for short goals (often 2–4%). For long goals held in diversified investments, 5–7% is a common planning assumption — with real-world bumps along the way.
What if I can't afford the monthly amount?
You have three honest levers: push the deadline out, trim the goal, or start with what you can and step it up yearly (the Pro step-up slider solves the starting amount). A stretched-but-funded plan beats an ideal-but-ignored one.
Why does starting earlier matter so much?
Because early deposits compound the longest. Waiting one year on a five-year goal doesn't raise the monthly by a fifth — it raises it by more like a quarter to a third, since you lose the cheapest, longest-compounding months.
Is this the same as an emergency fund?
No — an emergency fund is standing safety money, not a goal you spend. Build that first; then this tool is for the goals you're excited to spend on.