Your savings year by year
The table shows, for each year, the money put in so far, the interest earned so far and the balance. With $10,000 to start, $100 added at the end of each month, an example APY of 5% with interest added monthly, and 10 years, the last row reads:
| Year | Money put in | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $22,000.00 | $9,725.26 | $31,725.26 |
For education only, not financial advice.
Money put in rises by the same amount each year: $1,200 of deposits. Interest rises a little faster each year, because each year's interest is earned on a bigger balance, including the interest already added.
APY vs interest rate
A savings account's APY is its growth over one year once compounding is counted. An interest rate on its own leaves compounding out. So an example APY of 5% and an example rate of 5% compounded monthly are not the same thing. An example rate of 5% compounded monthly works out to an APY of 5.12%.
That is why this page and our compound interest calculator give different answers for the same example "5%", on purpose. With $10,000 to start, $100 added at the end of each month and 10 years, an example APY of 5% gives $31,725.26 here. With the same inputs, the compound interest calculator, at an example rate of 5% compounded monthly, gives $31,998.32.
For education only, not financial advice.
To turn an interest rate into an APY, or an APY back into a rate, use the APY calculator.
How long it takes to save $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000
| Goal | Months | Years and months |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | 25 | 2 years 1 month |
| $10,000 | 47 | 3 years 11 months |
| $25,000 | 105 | 8 years 9 months |
At these example numbers, the balance would reach each amount at the end of the month shown, if the example APY stayed at 4.00% the whole time. To try your own numbers, choose "Time to reach a goal" in the calculator above.
For education only, not financial advice.
How this calculator works
The monthly rate. Deposits are monthly, and interest is added monthly at a rate that gives exactly the APY over a full year:
monthly rate = (1 + APY)1/12 − 1
For an example APY of 5% that is 1.051/12 − 1, about 0.4074% a month. Twelve months at that rate, compounded, come to exactly the example 5% for the year.
A single deposit. $10,000 at an example APY of 5%, with interest added monthly and nothing else added, would grow by exactly 5% a year. After 10 years it would be $16,288.95. For education only, not financial advice.
The growth calculation. Growth uses the same calculation as our compound interest calculator, at the monthly rate above, with interest added monthly. So no new growth math is involved.
Your bank's figures can differ. A bank works interest out on its own schedule, so its figures can differ from these depending on how and when it credits interest. For example, with $10,000 to start, $100 added at the end of each month and 10 years, our compound interest calculator at an example rate of 5% compounded once a year gives $31,728.31, against $31,725.26 here at an example APY of 5%. For education only, not financial advice. That calculator's method is in how the compound interest calculator works.
Time to reach a goal. The calculator counts whole months. A goal counts as reached at the end of the first month in which the balance is at or above it. If that is more than 1,200 months (100 years), it says so instead of showing a number.
Monthly deposit for a goal. The amount is rounded up to the next cent, so that depositing the amount shown would reach the goal. Rounding to the nearest cent could leave the balance a little short. If the starting balance alone would reach the goal, the amount is $0.00.
At 0% APY. The balance is exactly the money put in. With $10,000 to start, $100 added at the end of each month and 10 years, that is $22,000.00. For education only, not financial advice.
What it leaves out. Taxes, fees and inflation. To see what a balance would buy at today's prices, see it in today's dollars with the compound interest calculator with inflation.
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For education only, not financial advice. The default APY of 5% is an example. Results assume the APY stays the same every month; real savings rates can change. Taxes, fees and inflation are not included.