How much will I save by setting money aside for X years?
Enter the starting capital, how much you save monthly, the interest rate and the number of years, and you get the final amount. Works for savings accounts, CDs, treasury bonds, bond funds, and any fixed-rate investment.
The tool calculates compound interest, the effect where interest itself starts earning more interest. That's why 30 years of saving makes such a huge difference.
You can switch on capital gains tax (typically 15-20% in the US) and inflation to see what the final amount is worth in today's money.
In India the equivalent products are a Fixed Deposit (FD) with bank interest around 6-7% and the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), a retirement scheme paying about 8% on monthly contributions. The compound-interest math is identical, so this tool doubles as a clean FD calculator and EPF maturity calculator.
How to use it
- Enter the starting capital: what you have today (can be 0).
- Enter the monthly amount: how much you plan to save each month.
- Set the annual interest rate and time period in years.
- Pick compounding frequency: monthly (typical savings accounts), quarterly (less common), or annual (treasury bonds).
- Optionally enable capital gains tax and inflation to see the real-world net result.
- The "index contributions" toggle raises your monthly amount each year by inflation, keeping your real saving power constant.
When this is useful
Six typical situations where the calculator gives you concrete numbers:
- Retirement plan. "30 years of saving $1,000/month at 6%, how much at the end?". You'll see the concrete amount and what it's worth after inflation.
- Bank CDs and savings accounts. "5% CD with monthly compounding for 3 years, capital gains tax 15%". Get the exact net amount you'll receive.
- Treasury bonds. US Treasuries, UK gilts, German Bunds: all fixed-rate with annual compounding. Enter the parameters and see the result after N years.
- Tax-advantaged accounts (IRA, Roth, 401k in the US; ISA in the UK). Disable capital gains tax (these accounts are tax-free under conditions) and compare with a regular taxable account.
- High-yield savings. 4-6% annually, monthly compounding. Check whether you're actually beating inflation, or losing real value.
- Compound interest education. 5% per year doesn't sound impressive. Over 30 years with monthly contributions, it works wonders. Watch the "Contributions vs Interest" chart, the moment when interest starts outpacing your contributions is the inflection point.
To compare these savings against stock market investments (stocks, ETFs, funds), see the regular contribution calculator (DCA). It models market volatility scenarios. To see what your savings will be worth in real terms after inflation, check the inflation calculator.