Savings Goal Tracker

The goal

What it is for

Target amount

Date needed

Account

APY

Already saved

Monthly amount

Standing order date

Month by month

The arithmetic

Monthly rate r

annual % / 1200 - so 4% gives r = 0.003333

Starting balance grows to

saved x (1 + r) ^ months

Shortfall

goal - grown starting balance

Monthly deposit

shortfall x r / ((1 + r) ^ months - 1)

With no interest

(goal - saved) / months

Deposits assumed

end of each month

Not included

tax on interest, rate changes

Setting it up

• Goal written down as a number and a date, not a feeling
• Account opened and the real APY confirmed - not the headline rate
• Standing order set for the day AFTER payday, not the day before
• Amount rounded up to the next whole figure, not down
• Separate account from the one you spend out of
• Sight of it removed from the main banking screen if that helps
• Rate re-checked every six months if it is variable
• A plan for what happens the month something goes wrong

Pay yourself first

The single change that decides whether this works is the ORDER. Saving what is left at the end of the month almost never happens, because there is rarely anything left. Move the money the day after you are paid and live on the rest. The amount on this sheet is chosen so that the rest is still enough.

If you miss a month

Do not restart the plan and do not double up next month unless you comfortably can. Re-run the calculator with the balance you actually have and the months you actually have left. The new figure will be a little higher and it will be true, which is worth more than the old one.