How to size the monthly deposit needed to hit a savings goal

1. Goal and start

   "Goal amount" is what you're saving toward (down payment, emergency fund, anything). "Already saved" is your current balance — if you're starting from zero, leave it at 0.

2. Months to goal

   "Months to goal" is your time horizon. 12 means "hit the target in a year"; 60 means "five years". The tool divides the gap evenly across that span — no compounding, no APY applied.

3. Press Run

   Result returns `monthlyNeed` = `(goal − already) / months`, rounded to 2 decimals. If you're already at or above the goal, the result is 0 (negative not surfaced). With months = 0 you'd hit a divide-by-zero — the schema enforces a sane default.

4. When this isn't enough

   For long horizons (10+ years) interest matters: a 4% APY high-yield savings account substantially reduces the monthly need. Use compound-interest-calculator-online to model that explicitly — this tool is the simple linear case.