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August 3, 2005
Savings Growth Calculator
Sometimes, while we're busy pinching pennies, it's hard to keep the end result in mind. You know that the little bit of discipline it takes to save money now will pay off, but exactly how much are those few dollars worth?
Well, this calculator will tell you! If you plug in your savings goals below, you'll see how quickly it can add up to a substantial amount of money.
I encourage you to really play with the numbers. See what happens if you can hold out and add to your savings account five years longer. See how much of a difference it will make if you find a CD that pays one percent better interest than you're making now. What about two percent? What if you could really squeeze and save an extra hundred dollars a month? How much of a difference would that make?
The answers might surprise you. Hopefully they will help keep your eye on the prize, and remind you that sacrificing a little now means you get a whole lot back later. Remember, a savings account is the opposite of a loan. You loan the bank money and they pay interest on it. When you see how much money can be earned from interest, you'll understand how banks can so easily rake it in by simply charging a slightyly higher interest rate on their loans than they pay on their savings accounts.
The Calculator
Posted by Frank at August 3, 2005 1:36 PM
Comments
Posted by: Dr. Evil
at September 1, 2005 3:35 PM
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The calculator would be even more useful if you could specify a growth rate of your deposit. For example, you might deposit $100/month the first year, then $102/month the second year (after you get a raise at work), and so on, for a 2% annual growth rate in the deposit. This can make a big difference in the saings over time.