Enter your savings target and current balance, then choose whether to solve for the monthly contribution you need or the time it will take to reach your goal.
This is an estimate for informational purposes only. Not financial, medical, or professional advice.
PMT
Payment
The monthly contribution the calculator solves for
FV
Future value
Your savings goal
PV
Present value
What you have already saved
r
Monthly rate
Annual interest rate ÷ 12
n
Months
Years to horizon × 12
The future value annuity formula solves for PMT, the fixed deposit made every month, given a target (FV), a starting balance (PV), a monthly rate (r), and a number of months (n). The starting balance compounds on its own to PV(1+r)ⁿ, while the stream of equal monthly deposits compounds to PMT × ((1+r)ⁿ − 1) / r. PMT is whatever value makes those two amounts add up to FV.
Raising the rate or extending the timeframe gives both the starting balance and each deposit longer to compound, so the required PMT falls. A higher target or a smaller starting balance shifts more of the work onto the monthly deposits, so PMT rises. At a 0% rate the formula reduces to plain division: the gap between target and starting balance, split evenly across the months.
“A penny saved is a penny earned.”
€7,200 emergency-fund target · €1,000 already saved · 2% annual rate · 2-year horizon
Target
€7,200
three-month emergency fund
Current savings
€1,000
already set aside
Required monthly
≈ €254
to reach the goal in 24 months
The EU average annual net earnings in 2024 were roughly €29,600, about €2,460 per month (Eurostat). A commonly cited financial-planning rule suggests setting aside 10 to 20% of take-home pay for savings: that is €246 to €492 per month.
Suppose you want to build a three-month emergency fund of €7,200. You already have €1,000 saved. A regulated savings account across the EU offered around 1 to 2.5% annually in 2024. At 2% and a two-year horizon, the required monthly contribution of ≈€254 is well within the 10 to 20% savings range for a typical EU salary, demonstrating that an emergency fund is achievable through consistent, modest contributions.
PMT
Payment
The fixed amount deposited each month
FV
Future value
Your savings goal
PV
Present value
What you have already saved
r
Required annual rate
Found by testing candidate rates until the equation balances
n
Months
Years to horizon × 12
Here the same future-value relationship is solved for r instead of PMT: given a fixed monthly deposit (PMT), a starting balance (PV), a number of months (n), and a target (FV), r is the rate at which the starting balance plus every deposit grows exactly to that target. Because r appears raised to the power of n on both sides of the equation, there is no algebraic rearrangement that isolates it directly, so the calculator tests candidate rates and narrows in on the one where both sides balance.
A larger gap between the target and what the contribution plus starting balance would produce at 0% growth pushes the required rate higher, since more of the shortfall has to come from compounding. A smaller gap, a longer timeframe, or a larger contribution each lower the rate needed to close it.
“The stock market is not going to provide a high return just because you need it to.”
€7,200 emergency-fund target · €1,000 already saved · €245 monthly contribution · 2-year horizon
Target
€7,200
three-month emergency fund
Monthly contribution
€245
fixed amount deposited each month
Required rate
≈ 4.1%
annual rate needed over 24 months
Depositing €245 a month for two years, on top of the €1,000 already saved, totals €6,880 in contributions toward the €7,200 target. The remaining €320 would need to come from interest, which works out to an annual rate of roughly 4.1%, higher than the 1 to 2.5% typically offered by regulated EU savings accounts in 2024.
That gap is informative on its own: closing it at a typical savings-account rate means raising the monthly contribution, extending the timeframe, or accepting a lower target, rather than counting on an unusually high rate turning up.
PMT
Payment
The fixed amount deposited each month
FV
Future value
Your savings goal
PV
Present value
What you have already saved
r
Monthly rate
Annual interest rate ÷ 12
n
Months to reach goal
Solved value, divided by 12 to show years
Here the fixed monthly deposit (PMT) and rate (r) are known, and the formula solves for n, the number of months needed for the starting balance (PV) plus every deposit to reach the target (FV). Because n sits inside an exponent, isolating it requires taking a logarithm of both sides rather than simple algebra, which is why this formula looks more involved than the contribution version above. In practice, the calculator simulates the balance month by month and reports the month it first crosses the target, since an actual trajectory can only land on a whole month.
A higher monthly contribution or a higher rate both shorten the time needed, since each adds more to the balance every month. A higher target or a smaller starting balance lengthen it, since there is more ground to cover before crossing the line.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
€10,000 goal · €1,000 already saved · €200 monthly contribution · 3% annual rate
Target
€10,000
savings goal from a modest start
Monthly contribution
€200
fixed amount deposited each month
Time to reach goal
≈ 43 months
about 3.6 years
Starting from €1,000 and adding €200 every month at a 3% annual rate, the balance crosses €10,000 in month 43, about 3.6 years. Total contributions over that stretch add up to €9,600; the remaining roughly €581 comes from interest earned along the way.
A higher monthly contribution or a higher rate shortens this timeframe from one direction, while a lower target or a larger starting balance shortens it from the other.
Many people assume the interest on a savings account is too small to matter. The numbers tell a different story. For a €10,000 goal starting from zero over five years, the required monthly contribution and the interest earned both shift meaningfully as the rate rises.
This is the same compounding math behind the compound interest calculator, applied here in reverse: instead of projecting how a balance grows, it solves for the contribution needed to reach a fixed target.
At 3%, interest covers nearly €483 of your €10,000 goal, meaning your actual out-of-pocket cost is lower and each monthly deposit does more work. Over longer horizons or larger goals, the gap widens further.
The rest of the table tells the same story: at 0% you deposit the full €10,000 yourself with no interest earned; at 1% total deposits fall to ≈€9,836 as interest covers ≈€164; at 2%, ≈€9,676 deposited against ≈€324 in interest; and at 5%, deposits drop to ≈€9,208 while interest covers ≈€792 of the goal.
A common use for this calculator is building toward a home down payment. Once that goal is saved, the next question is how it changes the loan itself, which the mortgage calculator can size for you.
€10,000 goal from zero, 5 years
Four ideas that sound right but mislead most savers:
“I need to save a fixed percentage of my income.”
The right monthly contribution depends on your goal, your timeline, and your current balance, not a universal percentage. The calculator shows you the number that fits your specific situation.
Your contribution is driven by your goal, not a rule of thumb.
“Interest rates are too low to matter for small savings.”
Even a 2% rate lowers your required monthly contribution by a measurable amount and reduces total out-of-pocket cost. Over five or ten years, the cumulative effect is significant.
Small rates still add up over realistic saving horizons.
“If I miss a month, my plan is ruined.”
Missing a single contribution shifts your timeline slightly; it does not invalidate the plan. Recalculating with your new current balance gives you an updated required contribution going forward.
A missed month is a recalculation, not a failure.
“I should wait until I have more saved before starting.”
Starting earlier shortens the timeframe required for each contribution and gives your existing savings more time to grow. The calculator shows how much waiting costs in higher required monthly contributions.
Starting sooner lowers the monthly amount you need to find.
Enter it as your current balance. Every solve-for mode (Contribution, Rate, Years) treats it as the starting point growth compounds from, so a larger existing balance reduces whichever figure you are solving for, the required monthly contribution, the required rate, or the time remaining, since the interest earned on that existing balance is doing part of the work toward the goal already. A windfall or lump sum received partway through (a bonus, an inheritance) can be added the same way by re-running the calculator with the updated current balance from that point forward.
No. The target amount you enter is treated as a fixed nominal figure with no adjustment for rising prices over the saving period. If your goal is meant to cover a future cost that itself rises with inflation (tuition, a home deposit, a wedding), the real-world price by the time you reach your goal is likely to be higher than today's price. Consider entering a larger target to account for that, or revisiting the target amount periodically as the real cost becomes clearer, rather than treating today's price as fixed for the whole saving period.
More than most people expect. Starting earlier means more periods for both your contributions and the interest already earned to compound, so reaching the same target generally needs a smaller monthly contribution, or takes a lower rate, the earlier you begin. Delaying by even a few years shrinks the number of compounding periods left, which usually raises the monthly contribution needed to reach the same goal by the same date. Re-running the calculator with a shorter timeline (as if you started later) against the current one is a quick way to see how much a delay would cost in required monthly contribution.
No. The calculator assumes a constant interest rate and constant contributions for the entire period, a simplification that makes the maths tractable but does not match how real savings behave. Real savings and investment rates fluctuate over time, and missed or reduced contributions (a lean month, a job change, an emergency expense) push the timeline out further than a single static estimate can show. Treat the result as a planning estimate to revisit periodically as your circumstances change, not a locked-in guarantee of the outcome.