Start with the finish line. Tell us your target, a growth rate and how many years you have, and we’ll work out how much you need to put in today.
Take the future value formula and solve it for the starting amount instead:
So you’d need to put in a little under half the goal. Compounding covers the rest.
A future value calculator answers “what will I end up with?” This one answers “what do I need to start with?”
It’s the same equation, just solved for a different piece. In finance you’ll also hear this called present value or “discounting.” The growth rate works like a discount rate, turning a future amount into what it’s worth today.
Want the growth rate between two amounts instead? That’s the CAGR calculator.
You want $250,000 in 18 years and expect 7% a year.
If that rate holds, growth supplies about 70% of the goal. Long time frames are powerful.
You need $50,000 in 5 years and want to play it safer at 4.5%.
With a short time frame, there isn’t much room for growth, so most of the money has to come from you.
It tells you how much you need to start with today to reach a target, given a yearly growth rate and a number of years.
They use the same equation, FV = PV × (1 + r)t. Future value solves for the ending amount. Reverse CAGR solves for the starting amount. Just pick the one that matches the number you don’t know yet.
Yes, for a single lump sum. Present value means taking a future amount and discounting it back to today at some rate, which is exactly what this does.
Then you’d need to start with more than your target, because the value shrinks every year. The calculator handles any rate above −100%.
This page assumes one deposit and nothing after. Regular contributions would lower the amount you need up front. Try different combinations in the Investment Growth Calculator.