Planning
Savings goal calculator
Put a date on your goal — a down payment on a home, a car, your kids' education — and find out how much you need to save each month, accounting for the fact that in a few years that same goal will cost more due to inflation.
What you want to reach (in today's money)
$
For example, a home down payment
How many years from now
What you've already saved
$
Expected nominal annual return
%
Expected annual inflation
%
How much you expect prices to rise each year
Resets these values back to their defaults.
What you need to save per month
$433.68
To get there by October 2036
$67,196
Goal adjusted to that date
$57,042
Total contributed
$10,154
Interest earned
Without accounting for inflation
$310.37
Accounting for inflation
$433.68
To have the equivalent of $50,000 in today's money in 10 years, you'll actually need $67,196. That's $123.31 more per month than you'd think if you ignored inflation.
Why inflation matters for a long-term goal
If you need €50,000 today for a down payment, that same down payment — in terms of what that money can buy — will likely cost more in 10 years, because prices rise over time. If you plan your savings using today's number without adjusting it, it's easy to come up short right when you need it.
How we adjust the goal
We start from what you want in today's money, and project it forward by applying the inflation rate you expect over those years. That adjusted amount, higher than the original, is the real target we use to calculate how much you need to save each month, also factoring in what you've already saved and the return you expect to earn.
The difference versus not adjusting for inflation
We show both calculations side by side: how much you'd need to save if you ignore inflation, and how much you actually need once you account for it. The difference is usually bigger than it looks at first glance, especially the further out your goal is.
How this differs from the savings calculator
If you already know our generic savings calculator, this is its version for goals with a fixed date where inflation matters: instead of telling you how long it would take to reach a fixed number, here you fix the year and we calculate how much you need to save each month for that date, adjusting the goal to what it will actually cost by then.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two savings calculators?
The generic savings calculator works with a fixed figure and answers either how long it would take to reach it, or how much you need to save over a given period — both in today's terms. This calculator is specifically built for goals several years out where inflation matters: it adjusts the goal to its future cost before calculating the contribution.
What inflation rate should I use?
A common reference is central banks' inflation target, around 2%, though in practice it's varied year to year. If your goal is in a category that tends to rise faster than average, like housing or education, it may make sense to use a somewhat higher figure.
What if my goal is a few months away, not years?
For goals that close in time, inflation barely matters, and you can just use our generic savings calculator without bothering with this adjustment.
Does the return rate I enter already account for inflation?
No — in this calculator, the return rate and inflation are two independent inputs. The return grows your savings; inflation grows the cost of your goal. If you'd rather think in terms of an inflation-adjusted ("real") return, set inflation to 0% here and subtract inflation from your return estimate before entering it.
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