Plan a savings target in three ways: find the payment needed, find how long your payments take, or project a future balance. Include existing savings, payment timing and optional annual increases.
Choose the question you want to answer
Save amount finds the initial regular payment required to reach the target within the chosen term. If your current savings already grow to the target at the assumed rate, the required payment is zero. A step-up increases later payments, so the headline is the first year's payment rather than a fixed payment for every year.
Time to goal finds the first payment-period end when the balance reaches the target. It includes the full last payment, so the final balance can exceed the target. If the starting balance already meets the target, it reports zero periods. If the target is not reached in 100 years, it says so rather than inventing a completion date.
Future balance projects a known payment and term. It is useful for checking a target against an amount that fits your budget. The payment schedule and balance chart show how the result develops.
Keep payment frequency and rate basis consistent
Select monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, yearly, biweekly or weekly payments. Periods are evenly spaced, with 26 biweekly or 52 weekly payments per year. This is not a calendar-date schedule. Terms are rounded down to complete payment periods, which are stated in the result.
Effective annual return matches the entered annual growth after compounding. Nominal annual rate divides the rate by the payment frequency. Beginning-of-period payments earn one more period of growth than ending payments. Keep these settings the same when comparing two plans.
Adjust your target thoughtfully
The target is a future nominal amount. If a purchase price is likely to rise, enter an appropriately revised target rather than assuming today's price stays fixed. The model does not apply inflation, taxes, account fees or changing returns. It also does not assess whether the regular payment is affordable.
Results retain full precision internally. When setting up an actual standing order, rounding the required payment upward to the next cent avoids slightly underfunding the mathematical target. For an annually increasing plan, remember to arrange those increases as well.
A higher modeled rate can reduce the required payment, but it is an assumption rather than a guaranteed way to reach the goal. Compare low-return or zero-return scenarios using the baseline comparison.
Formula
Future balance = grown starting balance + grown recurring contributions
Required payment = (target − grown starting balance) / growth factor for one recurring unit
Time to goal = first complete payment period with balance at or above target
Examples
Monthly target without interest
To move from 1,000 to 7,000 in 24 monthly periods at 0% return, save (7,000 − 1,000) / 24 = 250 per month.
How long to save
Starting with 1,000 and adding 200 per month at 0% return reaches 7,000 after 30 payments, or 2.5 years.