Reach your savings goal
Set a number. Tell us your monthly amount and we'll say how long it takes — or set a deadline and we'll say how much to save. Either way, watch compound growth do the work.
Show in today's dollars
Discount the goal for inflation so it's in money you understand now.
Putting away $1,000/month, you reach $100,000 in
5 yr 5 mo
about 65 months — landing on $100,297.
$100,297
$85,000
$15,297
15%
Assumes a steady 5% return, compounded monthly, with contributions made at month's end. Real markets don't move in a straight line — open the panel to see the year-by-year path and how much of the pot is pure compounding. A guide, not financial advice.
A savings target is really two questions, and most people only ask one: how long will this take, and how much do I need to put away each month? The answer depends less on discipline than on three numbers — what you already have, what you add, and what the money earns while it sits there.
This tool solves whichever side you leave blank, then splits the end balance into the part you deposited and the part the return generated.
How this is calculated
- 1
Turn the annual return into a monthly rate
Your percentage is read as an annual rate and converted to its monthly equivalent: the twelfth root of one plus the rate, less one. Twelve such months compound to exactly the figure you typed, not the higher result of dividing by twelve.
- 2
Walk the balance forward month by month
In How long? mode the balance earns that rate, your contribution is added at month's end, and the step repeats until the target is cleared. That month count is the answer; if it never clears, the page shows where 40 years lands you.
- 3
Or solve the contribution backwards
In How much? mode the maths reverses. Your starting balance is grown across the full term first, so only the shortfall comes from contributions. That shortfall is divided by the standard annuity factor for the term, giving a monthly amount rounded to the dollar.
- 4
Separate contributions from compound growth
What you put in is the starting balance plus the monthly amount times months elapsed. Anything above that is growth, and the growth share states it as a percentage of the end balance — the figure that climbs steeply on long runs.
- 5
Discount for inflation, if you want it
Today's dollars divides the future balance by one plus your inflation rate, raised to the years, and the year-by-year table repeats it per row. The default is the ABS Consumer Price Index annual rate of 4% for the year to May 2026.
What it assumes
- The return is one steady rate compounded monthly. Real markets miss the average most years, and for an invested portfolio the order good and bad years arrive in changes the result.
- No tax and no fees come out. Outside super, interest and distributions are generally added to your income for the year, and funds, platforms and brokers charge along the way.
- Contributions are flat for the whole run — no indexing to pay rises, no missed months, no lump sums part-way through.
- Contributions land at month's end and the starting balance is invested from month one. Saving at the start of each month would earn one extra month of return per deposit.
- Nothing is product-specific: bonus-interest conditions, minimum monthly deposits, introductory rates and super preservation rules all sit outside the model.
Common questions
What return should I enter?
Match it to where the money will actually sit. Cash earns the advertised rate and nothing more; a diversified portfolio carries a long-run expectation plus real falls along the way. Because tax and fees are ignored here, a net figure lands closer to reality.
Do I pay tax on what this earns?
Outside super, generally yes. Bank interest and fund distributions are added to your assessable income for the year and taxed at your marginal rate, and selling growth assets at a profit can trigger capital gains tax. The projection here is a gross balance.
Would I be better off saving inside super?
Super is taxed concessionally but preserved — you generally cannot access it until preservation age and a condition of release, which rules it out for anything you plan to spend sooner. The First Home Super Saver scheme is the narrow exception.
Why does one percentage point change the answer so much?
Growth compounds on growth: each year's return applies to a balance holding every earlier year's earnings, so a small gap in rate widens with time. On short runs almost everything is money you deposited and the rate barely matters.
Should the goal be in today's dollars or future dollars?
If the goal is a future purchase — a deposit, a car, a wedding — its price will likely move too, so a target set in today's money can leave you short. The today's dollars view discounts the balance by your inflation assumption.
Sources: ABS — Consumer Price Index, Australia · All data sources
See also: Budget your salary · Mortgage vs super vs shares · First Home Super Saver · FIRE calculator
General information only, not financial advice. Figures are estimates based on the inputs and assumptions above and don't account for your personal circumstances. Confirm anything important with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser.