Goal savings calculator

Money already saved keeps earning until the day you spend it, so it should be grown to the target date, not simply deducted from the total. Most calculators skip this and overstate what you need to save.

For ₹8,00,000 in three years with ₹2,00,000 already aside at 6%: that existing amount grows to ₹2,39,336, leaving ₹5,60,664 to fund — about ₹14,182 a month, or ₹473 a day.

The right place depends almost entirely on the date, not on the amount:

• Under two years — a savings account, a short fixed deposit or a liquid fund. Certainty matters more than return; use 5-7% in the calculator, or 0 to be safe.
• Two to five years — debt funds or recurring deposits for most people.
• Beyond five years — equity becomes reasonable, and the SIP calculator is the better tool.

A goal two years away invested in equity is not an investment plan; it is a coin toss with a deadline.

Only three things can move, and it is worth being honest about which:

• The date. Six more months often cuts the monthly figure noticeably.
• The amount. A smaller target is a real answer, not a failure.
• The monthly saving. Which means something else in the budget gives way.

Raising the expected return to make the sum work is not a fourth option — it only changes the spreadsheet.