Savings goal calculator: monthly contribution
Find a monthly contribution for a savings target and deadline. Compare return assumptions, fees and inflation in future or today’s US dollars. Free, no signup.
Compare scenarios
Starting values are examples. Replace them with your own assumptions. All amounts are in US dollars.
Use a decimal point or comma, up to two decimal places, and no thousands separators. Enter whole months from 1 to 600.
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Turn a target into an amount you can review
Start with the cost you want to cover and the months available. The calculator solves the monthly contribution separately for each return assumption. If an amount does not fit your budget, try a longer horizon or a smaller initial milestone. Raising a return assumption makes the math look easier but does not make that return achievable.
Worked example you can check without JavaScript
Suppose you have $500 and want $2,000 in 12 months. At 0% return, 0% fees and 0% inflation, the gap is $1,500: $1,500 ÷ 12 = $125 at the end of each month. The first month closes at $625 and the last at $2,000. The calculator rounds the required contribution upward to the smallest cent that reaches the target in its monthly model.
Choose what the target means
A nominal $5,000 target means $5,000 at the end of the period. A target of $5,000 in today’s purchasing power with 2% annual inflation becomes $5,100 after 12 months. Inflation is your assumption, not a forecast; actual prices for your goal can change differently. The target applies at the chosen horizon, even if the starting amount already exceeds it today.
A useful emergency target is personal
For an emergency reserve, start from expenses you might need to cover and how accessible the money must be. The CFPB explains that the amount depends on your circumstances. This tool does not set an emergency-fund requirement or choose an investment. Review your target when income, essential expenses or the expected cost changes.
How the calculation works
The annual return is an effective rate. We convert it using (1 + return / 100)^(1/12) − 1, not by dividing it by 12. Each month: apply gross growth or loss to the opening balance, deduct the modeled proportional fee, then add your contribution. A contribution made in month 1 first earns a return in month 2. Growth and fees round to cents each month, so results can differ from an unrounded formula or a real account statement.
Fees and today’s dollars
The annual fee is a separately entered effective proportional reduction: its monthly fraction is 1 − (1 − fee / 100)^(1/12). It applies after gross return and before the monthly contribution. This is a planning convention, not a specific fund’s fee schedule. If your return assumption is already net of that fee, enter 0 here. Today’s-dollar values divide each nominal balance by (1 + inflation / 100)^(month / 12). They estimate purchasing power under your assumption; they are not extra money.
What this cannot tell you
A constant-rate path does not represent volatility, the order of good and bad months, investment suitability or a probability of success. Negative example returns show a possible loss mechanism, not the worst possible outcome. The model excludes taxes, withdrawals, variable contributions, transaction charges and fixed account fees. It supports 1–600 months and rejects scenarios with nominal or real amounts beyond the supported range instead of showing an incomplete projection.
Sources and model distinction
Sources checked on September 7, 2026. They explain the concepts; the monthly rounding and effective-fee convention above are our own explicit model, not a claim that these agencies use the same calculation.