You can also watch this video: How to Calculate Savings
John wants to save for a down payment on a house. He estimates he'll need $50,000 in 5 years. He currently has $5,000 saved and can earn 2% interest annually on his savings account.
John want to know how much he can save if he deposits $500 per month.
Open the Savings Calculator.
| Value | Keystrokes | Display | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | months | 60.00 | Stores the number of months. |
| 2 | rate | 2.00 | Stores the annual interest rate. |
| 5000 | amt | 5,000.00 | Stores the initial deposit. |
| 500 | dep | 500.00 | Stores the monthly deposit. |
| bal | 37,101.61 | Calculates the amount saved. |
Savings
60.00 : The number of months.
2.00 : The annual rate.
5,000.00 : The current amount.
500.00 : The monthly deposit.
37,101.61 : The amount saved.
Result: 37,101.61
John sees that this is short of his goal of $50,000. He now will calculate the required monthly deposit amount.
| Value | Keystrokes | Display | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50000 | bal | 50,000.00 | Stores the savings goal. |
| dep | 704.24 | Solves for the monthly deposit. |
Savings
Solving for pmt, monthly deposit, with initial value (guess) of 500.00
60.00 : The number of months.
2.00 : The annual rate.
5,000.00 : The current amount.
704.24 : The monthly deposit.
50,000.00 : The amount saved.
Result: 704.24
John wonders how long it would take if he could increase his monthly deposit to $800.
| Value | Keystrokes | Display | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 | dep | 800.00 | Stores the new monthly deposit. |
| months | 53.20 | Calculates the new number of months needed. |
Savings
Solving for months, number of months, with initial value (guess) of 60.00
53.20 : The number of months.
2.00 : The annual rate.
5,000.00 : The current amount.
800.00 : The monthly deposit.
50,000.00 : The amount saved.
Result: 53.20
To reach his savings goal of $50,000 in 5 years (60 months), starting with $5,000 and earning 2% interest annually, John would need to deposit $714.85 each month. If John increases his monthly deposit to $800, he could reach his goal in about 53 months (4.4 years), shortening his saving time by more than half a year.
By using this savings calculator, John can easily adjust his savings strategy to meet his goals. He can experiment with different monthly deposits, time frames, or initial amounts to find the best approach for his financial situation.
The Savings Calculator uses compound interest calculations to provide accurate projections of savings growth. It makes the following assumptions:
This calculator is ideal for planning short to medium-term savings goals where you can make regular, consistent deposits.
As with all CALC 1 Function Calculators, this calculator will solve for months, rate, amt, or pmt given the other 4 values. It can also plot the balance as a function of any of the other values.