Savings Goal Calculator
Pick a target, tell us what you've saved and when you need it, and see the exact amount to set aside each month, with your interest doing part of the work.
Progress toward your goal
How much of the target you've already banked, and what that grows to on its own by your deadline (the marker).
How the balance builds
Starting savings, your deposits and growth stack up to your balance, which meets the dashed goal line on your deadline.
Range of outcomes if you invest
Invested money swings with markets, so the plan is replayed across 1,000 simulated markets: the line is the steady-return plan, the bands show where the markets land.
| Plan | Monthly | Chance |
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Monthly saving by where you keep it
The same goal and deadline at each rate; yours is outlined. Grey bars don't suit your timeline.
| Account | Return | Monthly | You put in | Growth |
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Year-by-year schedule
Annual summary of contributions, growth and running balance until the goal is met.
| Year | Contributed | Growth | Balance | % of goal |
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How this is calculated
The required monthly amount
First we convert your annual return to a monthly rate: rm = (1 + r)^(1/12) − 1. Your current savings grow to saved × (1 + rm)^n by the deadline (n months), so contributions only need to fill the rest. Treating them as an end-of-month annuity, the required amount is (goal − saved × (1 + rm)^n) × rm ÷ ((1 + rm)^n − 1). At a 0% return this collapses to the plain (goal − saved) ÷ n.
The guards
If your current savings already grow past the goal, the required contribution is $0 and the page shows the month they cross it. If the goal is already banked today, it's funded on day one. Negative results are clamped to zero.
Which rate each choice uses
HISA: the top everyday high-interest savings rate (2.75%), which can change at any time. GICs: a GIC only helps if it matures by your date, so a goal 5 or more years away uses the best 5-year rate (4.05%) and a nearer one the 1-year rate (3.6%), renewed each year at today's rate. Under a year no GIC in the rate table matures in time, so there the 1-year rate is only an estimate. Balanced: FP Canada's 2026 planning return for a 60/40 portfolio (5.2%), before fees. All rates are nominal and before tax, as of July 2026.
Reading the charts
Progress fills to what you've saved; its marker is what that alone grows to by the deadline, saved × (1 + rm)^n, and your deposits and their growth cover the rest of the track. How the balance builds stacks your starting savings, your deposits to date (monthly × months) and growth (balance − savings − deposits), so the top of the stack is your balance; the dashed line is the goal. Monthly saving by where you keep it runs the same formula at each rate, with all stocks at FP Canada's average Canadian, US and international equity return (6.43%). A bar turns grey when the option doesn't suit your timeline: a 1-year GIC needs 12 months, a 5-year GIC needs 60, and investments need 5 years or more, since they can be down just when you need the money. Grey bars keep their place in the ranking.
Range of outcomes (invested money only)
For the balanced choice, or a custom return marked as invested, the plan is replayed across 1,000 simulated markets, month by month. Each month's return is drawn from a lognormal spread whose middle compounds at the planning return, so the middle market tracks the steady line. FP Canada publishes returns, not volatility, so the yearly swings use long-run historical figures from the site's market data: 15% for stocks, 5% for bonds, and a correlation of 0.2 between them. A 60/40 mix gives about 9.6% a year. A custom return implies a stock share between FP Canada's fixed-income return (3.2%, all bonds) and its average equity return (all stocks). The amounts for 8 in 10 and 9 in 10 markets are the smallest monthly deposits that get that share of the simulated markets to the goal. The simulated markets are the same on every visit, so a shared link shows the same range. Savings accounts and GICs get no range: their principal is protected, though a HISA rate can change.
Match the account to your horizon
A savings goal is not a retirement fund: the shorter the timeline, the less risk you can take. Under two years, use a high-interest savings account so the money is liquid and can't drop. Two to five years, GICs that mature by your date lock in a guaranteed rate. Five years or more, you can afford to invest in a diversified portfolio, accepting swings for a higher expected return.
Use a TFSA as the wrapper, and automate it
A TFSA holds any of those products and shelters all the interest and growth from tax; the 2026 room is $7,000 a year. Set the monthly amount to transfer automatically on payday, before you can spend it.
What this doesn't model
Taxes on interest earned outside a TFSA, inflation eroding the goal's real value, fees, or rate changes on savings accounts and GIC renewals. The headline assumes a steady return; only the range of outcomes adds market swings, and it leaves out fat-tailed crashes and changing volatility. For inflation see the inflation calculator; for long-run investing use compound interest or retirement; for a safety net first, the emergency fund calculator. Rates verified July 2026.
Common questions
How do I calculate how much to save each month for a goal?
Take your goal, subtract what your current savings will grow to by the deadline, then spread the remaining gap over the months using the future-value-of-an-annuity formula. The monthly amount is (goal − saved × (1 + rm)^n) × rm ÷ ((1 + rm)^n − 1), where rm is the monthly rate (1 + annual rate)^(1/12) − 1 and n is the number of months. At a 0% return it's just the gap divided evenly over the months.
Where should I keep money for a short-term savings goal in Canada?
Match the account to the horizon. For goals under two years, use a high-interest savings account (top rates near 2.75% in 2026) so the money is safe and liquid. For two to five years, GICs that mature by your date lock in a guaranteed rate, about 3.6% for one year and up to about 4.05% for five. For five years or more you can invest in a diversified portfolio, where FP Canada's planning assumption for a balanced 60/40 fund is 5.2% a year before fees, accepting some ups and downs for a higher expected return.
Should I save toward a goal inside a TFSA?
Usually yes. A Tax-Free Savings Account is a wrapper, not a product, you can hold a HISA, a GIC or investments inside it, and every dollar of interest, dividends and growth is tax-free. The 2026 annual limit is $7,000, and withdrawals free up equal room the following year, which suits a savings goal you'll eventually spend.
How much does earning interest shorten the wait?
For short goals the effect is modest, but it grows with time and balance. On a $25,000 goal over three years with $5,000 already saved, moving from a 0% chequing account to 1-year GICs at 3.6% cuts the required monthly saving from about $556 to about $513, and growth does about $1,550 of the work for you. Over ten years the growth can cover a quarter or more of a six-figure goal.
What if my current savings already reach the goal?
If what you've already saved will grow to your goal by the deadline on its own, the required monthly contribution is zero, you're on track. The same check flags a nearly-funded balance that growth alone will carry across the line, so you don't over-save.