Find out how much you need to save each month for a goal, after including the growth of what you have already saved.
Your existing savings are projected forward to see how much they'll grow to on their own.
The remaining gap is then converted into a required monthly savings figure.
Remaining goal: Target − (current savings grown at the expected rate)
The savings goal calculator is for the common situation where you have already started. You have some money set aside for a goal, and you want to know how much more to save each month to reach it on time. It gives credit for the growth your existing savings will earn by themselves.
For example, a couple saving for a car may already have ₹2 lakh in an FD. Ignoring it would make the monthly target look larger than necessary; counting it at face value would ignore its interest. This calculator projects it forward and plans only for the gap.
If your existing savings are expected to reach the goal on their own, the monthly amount shown is zero.
1. Note the goal G, the amount already saved S, the time T in years and the expected annual return R%.
2. Grow the existing savings with yearly compounding: S_future = S × (1 + R ÷ 100)ᵀ.
3. Find the remaining gap: gap = G − S_future. If this is zero or negative, you need no more monthly savings.
4. Find the monthly rate i = R ÷ 1200 and months n = 12T.
5. Compute the monthly saving: gap ÷ ( ((1 + i)ⁿ − 1) ÷ i × (1 + i) ).
6. Recheck the plan each year with the actual balance.
The goal is met by two separate streams of money: the lump sum you already have, which grows on its own, and the new monthly savings. Because both grow independently, you can value them separately and add them. The calculator first asks how much of the goal the existing savings will cover, then solves the ordinary monthly savings problem for whatever is left. This is the same idea used by financial planners when they map existing assets to goals.
The existing lump sum is grown with yearly compounding, S × (1 + r)ᵀ, while the monthly savings are modelled with monthly compounding and deposits at the start of each month. For moderate rates and periods, the difference between yearly and monthly compounding on the lump sum is small, a fraction of a percent of the goal. If your existing savings sit in an FD that compounds quarterly, their real growth will be slightly higher than shown, which works in your favour.
Existing savings reduce the required monthly amount by more than their face value suggests, because they grow for the whole period. On a five-year goal at 9%, each ₹1 lakh already saved grows to about ₹1.54 lakh, so it removes about ₹1.54 lakh from the gap that monthly savings must fill. This is also why raiding goal savings for another purpose is costly: you lose both the money and the growth it would have earned.
Nikhil and Anjali want ₹12,00,000 in 5 years for a car and home upgrades. They already have ₹2,00,000 saved and expect about 9% a year on both old and new savings.
Answer: Required monthly savings ₹11,742; Your current savings will grow to ₹3,07,725
Counting savings that are earmarked for another goal or for emergencies.
Assuming existing savings earn a higher rate than they really do.
Forgetting to raise the goal amount for inflation when the goal is years away.
Not updating the plan when a large withdrawal or bonus changes the balance.
Treating a zero result as permission to spend the existing savings.
Planning the rest of a goal after a bonus or gift has been set aside.
Checking whether existing deposits are already enough for a goal.
Adjusting a monthly savings plan midway through.
Allocating existing investments across several family goals.
What if my current savings already cover the goal?
The monthly savings needed will show as zero. Your current savings, left to grow on their own, are expected to reach your goal by themselves.