How much do I need to save each month?
A big savings goal is easier to reach once it is a small, regular amount. Enter what you are saving for, what you already have and when you need it, and this breaks it into a monthly, weekly and daily figure.
How do you work out how much to save each month?
Take what you still need, which is the goal minus what you have already saved, and divide it by the number of months until you need it. That is the monthly amount. The weekly and daily figures are the same money over a shorter window.
each month = still to save ÷ months
per week = each month × 12 ÷ 52
per day = each month × 12 ÷ 365
at your pace = still to save ÷ what you can save a month, rounded up
Why break a savings goal into monthly, weekly or daily amounts?
Because a large total does not tell you what to do today. Saving 12,000 in a year sounds out of reach; 1,000 a month, about 231 a week or 33 a day is a decision you can make. Breaking it down helps in four ways:
- It turns a wish into an action. A monthly figure is a transfer you can set up for payday. A total is only a number to worry about.
- It shows whether the goal is realistic. If the monthly amount is more than you have left after bills, you find out now, not in the last month.
- It gives you checkpoints. With a weekly figure you know within a week if you are falling behind, while it is still easy to catch up.
- It makes trade-offs visible. A daily amount sits next to daily spending. When the goal needs 33 a day, a 30 lunch out becomes a choice you can see.
Monthly, weekly or daily: which should I use?
Use each for a different job. Save monthly, because most salaries arrive monthly, as almost all do in the UAE and the Gulf, and the easiest saving is a transfer made on payday. Check weekly, because a week is short enough to notice drift and long enough to correct it. Think daily, because the daily figure is the one that compares with what you actually buy. Nobody needs to move money every day.
What if the monthly amount is more than I can afford?
There are three levers: more time, a smaller goal, or more money each month. Enter what you can realistically save in the last field and the calculator shows when you would get there at that pace. If that is too late, decide now which lever to pull. A goal that quietly falls behind for six months is harder to fix than one you adjust today.
Save first, not from what is left
Money left at the end of the month is the money most likely to be spent. Moving the savings amount on payday, into an account you do not spend from, means the rest of the month runs on what remains. Saving for several dated bills at once, such as school fees and a flight home? The sinking fund calculator handles them together.
Saving for a goal as a household
When two people save toward the same thing, each tends to assume the other is on track. A shared goal works when everyone sees the same numbers: what has been saved, what each month needs, and how many months are left.
A savings goal the whole household can see
In EXPENDR Plus, each savings goal has a target, a monthly set-aside and an estimate of how many months are left, and everyone in the household sees the same progress. Weekly budgets, budget alerts and the weekly recap are free; Plus is one payment for the whole household, not a subscription.
More free tools
- Daily budget calculator — what you can safely spend today
- Weekly budget calculator — turn a monthly salary into a weekly amount
- 50/30/20 budget calculator — split your salary into needs, wants and savings
- Sinking fund calculator — how much to set aside for big yearly bills
- Biweekly budget calculator — weekly spending when you are paid every two weeks