A goal, a monthly deposit and a bit of interest — this shows the month you arrive, what the interest contributes, and every milestone on the way. Nothing leaves your browser.
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| Year | Deposits | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Deposits land at month end, after that month’s interest — the way a monthly standing order behaves.
| Monthly | Time | Date |
|---|
Automate the deposit on payday, before spending starts. Keep the money in a separate account — ideally a high-yield savings account — so it is not spent by accident. And review the goal once a year: as pay rises, nudging the deposit up by even $25 a month pulls the finish date noticeably closer.
Estimate only — not financial advice. The rate is the one you enter; real savings rates change, and interest may be taxed. Inflation adjustment is a rough planning device, not a forecast. Last updated October 2026.
Reach a target by a date, or see how long it takes — with milestones, interest and several goals at once.
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Set a target and see the month you reach it at your current pace — or flip it round and get the monthly deposit a deadline demands — with interest, milestones, an optional inflation adjustment and room for several goals at once.
Saving toward $20,000 with $3,000 already banked and $400 a month at 4.5% APY: you arrive in 39 months. Of the final $20,000, $18,364 is money you put in and $1,636 is interest the account added. Want the same goal in 2 years instead? The deposit has to rise to $667 a month.
The balance is grown month by month: interest is credited on the balance, then the deposit lands — the rhythm of a monthly standing order. The compounding choice converts the rate you enter into its monthly equivalent, so daily compounding edges ahead of yearly exactly as it should. Milestones mark the months the balance crosses 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the goal. With inflation adjustment on, the target itself grows at your inflation rate each month, because the goal is expressed in today’s money while the finish line keeps moving.
It depends on the start, the deposit and the rate. From $3,000 at $400 a month and 4.5% APY, the answer is 39 months — and $1,636 of the total is interest, not deposits. Doubling the deposit does far more than doubling the rate: try the What-if tab and watch the finish date move.
Switch to Monthly needed mode, set the deadline, and the calculator works the deposit out — $667 a month reaches $20,000 in two years from a $3,000 start at 4.5%. If the figure it gives is more than you can manage, the honest options are a later date, a smaller goal, or both — the maths will show each trade-off.
Barely, at savings-account rates. On the worked example, monthly, daily and yearly compounding all arrive in the same month; daily earns about $38 more interest than yearly across the whole 39 months. The deposit size and the rate matter far more — frequency is the last thing to optimise, not the first.
It treats your goal as today’s money and grows the target while you save: a $20,000 goal at 3% inflation needs about $21,900 in three years’ money to buy the same thing. The finish date moves out accordingly, which is the honest picture when the goal is a car, a deposit or a wedding rather than a round number.
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