Savings Goal Calculator
Every goal with a date attached — a house down payment, a child's fees, a first decade of retirement — can be reduced to a monthly number. Learning that ₹50 lakh in 15 years needs ₹10,008 a month, or ₹8.34 lakh invested once, changes the conversation from vague intention to a standing instruction. This calculator solves for both routes to the same target.
Enter values
Results
- Monthly deposit needed
- ₹10,008.40
- One-time investment needed today
- ₹8,33,916.80
- Total deposited over the term
- ₹18,01,512.56
How is the Savings Goal calculated?
Enter the corpus you want at the end, the years you have to build it and the annual return you expect, which is compounded monthly to match a habit of investing every month. The target divided by the growth factor gives the one-time investment needed today, while the annuity formula solved backwards gives the end-of-month deposit that reaches the same amount. The total deposited over the term appears as a reality check.
Formula
Lump sum: PV = FV ÷ (1 + r ÷ 1200)^(12 × years). Monthly deposit: PMT = FV × i ÷ ((1 + i)^m − 1), where i = r ÷ 1200 is the monthly rate as a decimal and m is the number of months. FV is the target corpus, and at 0% the payment is simply the target spread evenly across the months.
Example
Target ₹50,00,000 in 15 years, expecting 12% a year. Over 180 instalments at 1% a month the annuity factor works out to 499.58, so ₹10,008.40 deposited each month reaches the goal: ₹18,01,512.56 out of pocket and ₹31,98,487.44 from returns. Prefer one transaction? Invest ₹8,33,916.80 today and let compounding do the rest.
Things to remember
A 12% return is an equity-led assumption rather than a guarantee, so treat the monthly figure as a target to review annually instead of a fixed bill. Raise the deposit whenever income rises, shorten the timeline, or trim the corpus itself — all three levers work, and starting earlier is always the cheapest one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much monthly saving builds a ₹50 lakh corpus?
At 12% expected returns over 15 years, ₹10,008.40 a month does it; drop the assumption to 10% and the required deposit rises to about ₹12,064. Longer timelines and higher expected returns both shrink the monthly figure.
Lump sum or monthly deposit, which is better?
A lump sum starts compounding immediately and usually finishes ahead if the returns actually arrive. Monthly deposits suit a salary, smooth your entry price and force discipline. If surplus cash exists today, maths favours the lump sum; otherwise start the monthly route and step it up yearly.
What return rate should I assume for a goal?
Match the instrument to the goal: 6–7% for debt or fixed deposits, 10–12% for a long-term equity fund SIP. Aggressive assumptions shrink the deposit on paper and then under-deliver, so a modest rate you are confident of beating is the safer way to plan.
Should my target account for inflation?
It should once the goal is years away. At 6% inflation, ₹50 lakh in 15 years buys what about ₹20.9 lakh buys today, so either raise the target or accept a smaller outcome. The inflation calculator converts any future target into today's rupees in one step.
Related Calculators
- SIP CalculatorInvestmentEstimate the future value of your monthly SIP, the total amount invested and the wealth gained.
- Lumpsum CalculatorInvestmentProject the value of a one-time mutual fund investment, with estimated returns and a year-by-year growth chart.
- Step-Up SIP CalculatorInvestmentProject a monthly SIP that rises by a fixed percentage each year, with the final corpus, total invested and final instalment.
- Compound Interest CalculatorFinance & InterestCalculate compound interest, the final amount and the interest earned on any principal, for any compounding frequency.
- Financial Independence CalculatorFinance & InterestFind the corpus financial independence needs, what current savings grow to by retirement, and the shortfall.