Work out how long building three to six months of expenses actually takes
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Updated on 25 Oct 2026.The usual advice is three to six months of expenses held where you can reach it the same day, which is a target rather than a plan. Multiply your monthly outgoings by three or by six, put that in as the goal, and the answer is a date. Interest helps a little and the monthly amount decides almost everything, which is the honest shape of the problem and the reason this fund belongs in savings rather than in the market.
Multiply your monthly expenses by three or six and type it in "Target to reach" (the page starts at $15,000).
Type what is "In the account now" and how much is "Paid in every month".
Type the APY of the savings account the fund will sit in.
Read how many months the goal note says it takes, and the balance after 36 months.
Enter an opening balance, a monthly amount and the APY on your own account. The result is the balance at the end, split into what you paid in and what the bank paid you, with a row for every year.
Three things are optional. A goal turns the question round: instead of what will this be worth, how many months until it is enough. A marginal tax rate shows what is left after tax, since savings interest is ordinary income in the year it is credited. An inflation figure shows what the final balance buys in today's money, and says plainly when inflation is beating the rate, because an emergency fund losing slowly to inflation is still the right place for money you might need this week.
One number is worth more than the headline: the month at which interest first exceeds the monthly deposit. That is when the account starts doing more of the work than you do, and almost nobody calculates it by hand. Estimates only, not financial advice.
The rest of the article, and all 6 questions about Savings Calculator, are on the Savings Calculator page.
Rates follow the central bank, change without notice and differ by bank and balance tier. Any figure published here would be out of date within weeks and wrong for your own bank on the day you read it, so the rate you enter is the one from the offer in front of you.
Compare the two APYs here and look at the difference over five years. A percentage point on 20,000 is about 1,000 over that period, which is worth the afternoon it takes to open an account. Check the rate is not an introductory one that drops after six months.
Enter the target as a goal and the answer comes back as a number of months rather than a balance. Raising the monthly deposit moves that number immediately, which makes the choice between saving more and waiting longer a visible trade-off rather than a guess.
Yes, even when inflation is above the rate. An emergency fund is judged on being available the same day without a loss, not on returns. The calculator says when inflation is beating your rate so the cost is visible, but the alternative is worse when the money is needed suddenly.
Formula only: no rates or limits are read from an official source.
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On the related tools: Step-up SIP Calculator – See how raising your SIP every year changes the final corpus · ROI Calculator – Return on investment as a total percentage and as a yearly (annualised) rate.
In the collection Savings and Deposit Calculators.