Calculator
Savings goal and emergency fund calculator
This is for anyone saving toward a fixed amount, such as an emergency fund, a car repair buffer or a deposit. Fill in a monthly amount to see how long it takes, or leave it empty and give a number of months to see what to set aside each month. It updates as you type, and nothing leaves your device. It is general information, not financial advice.
Your plan
Worked example (shown when scripts are off): a $9,000 goal with $1,500 saved and no interest needs $7,500 more. Over 18 months that is about $416.67 a month.
Emergency fund range
Worked example (shown when scripts are off): $3,000 of essential costs a month times 3 to 6 months is $9,000 to $18,000.
Before you decide
A range is a starting point, not a verdict. The right size depends on how steady your income is, who depends on it and what you owe. If you carry high-interest debt, read the guide on savings versus debt before you decide how to split money.
How the calculator works
For a goal with no interest the arithmetic is plain: amount still needed divided by months, or amount needed divided by monthly deposit. With a savings rate, the calculator treats deposits as made at the end of each month and applies one-twelfth of the annual rate to the balance every month. Months needed is the first month in which the balance reaches the goal. The monthly amount for a fixed number of months comes from the standard formula: (goal minus savings grown at the monthly rate) times the monthly rate, divided by (1 plus the monthly rate) to the power of the months, minus 1. At a 0 percent rate it falls back to simple division. The monthly figure is rounded up to the next cent, so the plan never lands just short.
The emergency fund range
The range multiplies your monthly essential costs by a low and a high number of months. Essentials are the bills you must pay in a bad month: housing, utilities, food, transport, insurance and minimum debt payments. Three to six months of such costs is a commonly quoted range, and you can change both ends. People with irregular income, one earner or dependents often aim higher, and people with very stable income or other safety nets sometimes aim lower. It is a rule of thumb, not an official standard.
It is also fine to build in stages. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests starting with a small, reachable goal, and its research on emergency savings points to roughly one month of income as a level that separates households at higher and lower risk of hardship. Reaching a small first milestone often matters more than the final number.
Interest rate caution
Savings account rates change, often without notice, and they differ between institutions. Use 0 if unsure, or type the rate shown on your own account today and rerun the plan when it changes. Interest is taxable in many places, and the calculator ignores tax and inflation.
Limits
- Deposits are assumed to be the same every month and to start next month.
- Interest is a monthly estimate. Real accounts may compound or pay differently.
- If your essential costs change, the emergency range changes with them.
- It does not know your income, debts or insurance, so it cannot say how much you should save.
- It is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.
Where this comes from
The future-value and payment formulas are standard time-value-of-money arithmetic for a level monthly deposit. The emergency savings framing draws on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's saving-for-emergencies digest and its research reports on emergency savings and financial security. The 3 to 6 month range is a widely repeated rule of thumb, not a figure from a regulator, and is labelled that way here. The tests check the code against a hand-worked 12-month example and many input combinations.