How long will it take to reach my savings goal?

It will take 1 years and 2 months to save $10,136 starting with $4,244 and depositing $400 monthly.

Deposits & Terms
Initial Balance $4,244
Regular Deposit $400
Frequency of Deposit Monthly
Savings goal $10,000

Interest rate
Interest rate 5%

Taxes
Taxable Interest? Yes
Marginal Tax Rate 28%


Details
Initial balance $4,244
Total deposits $5,600
Total interest earned $426
Total taxes paid $97
Total saved $10,136

Assumptions and simplifications
Results are computed using a standard future-value calculation and your investments' nominal rate of return, rather than annual percentage yield (APY). Banks are required to advertise APY, which allows direct comparisons between accounts using different compounding schedules. This calculator assumes monthly compounding.

Love having 6 days off in a row, it allows me to get things done. On Friday, I got my taxes, oil change, tune up and tire rotation done. I couldn’t decide whether to get my car washed since it looks like its going to rain Tuesday or Thursday, then it would be a waste. I’m not getting as much back as I did last year. I guess that’s a good thing, it means there wasn’t much income for them to tax last year. The tax guy showed me that I saved money on taxes by contributing to my 401K. When I start withdrawing the money at retirement, it will be taxed at a lower rate. I want to try filing my income tax myself because it seems so simple. All the tax preparer does is fill in a bunch of blanks which takes less than 20 minutes. I paid $108 when can do this myself with Turbo Tax or something. My financial situation is not even complicated (yet).

I have to take that return & put it back into my emergency savings fund. We’re supposed to get a bonus at work, but I heard it was coming late. I’m putting that into the EF also.

Friday spent about $200 (tax & auto). I used a $20 off coupon for my auto services. Yesterday was a no spending day, even though I did go to the mall. I told myself "You're only here to look." I saw a top that I liked, cost $88 – I was tempted but, I didn’t. I was just there to hang out, went into B&N and read a little bit. Had dinner at home & watched Indpendence Day.


More inspiration: [ From Creating Wealth by Robert G. Allen]

• Our aspirations are our possibilities. – Robert Browning

• Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race - Calvin Coolidge

• Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambition. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. – Mark Twain

• Every great man, every successful man, no matter what the field of endeavor, has known the magic that lies in these words: every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. – W. Celement Stone

• Inch by inch, anything’s a cinch. – Dr. Robert Schuller

• Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream, and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand. – Robert G. Allen

• History records the successes of men with objectives and a sense of direction. Oblivion is the position of small men overwhelmed by obstacles. – William H. Danforth

• Industry, thrift and self control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character. – Calvin Coolidge

• Progress always involves risk. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first. – Frederick B. Wilcox

• Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom. – Marilyn Ferguson

• The road to hell is paved with good intentions – Karl Marx

• My life seems like one long obstacle course, with me as the chief obstacle. – Jack Paar

• There is not security on this earth; there is only opportunity. – Douglas Mac Arthur

• No man is free who is not master of himself. – Epictetus

• Unjust criticism is usually a disguised compliment. It often means that you have aroused jealousy and envy. Remember that no one ever kicks a dead dog. – Dale Carnegie

• Come to the edge, He said.
They said, We are afraid.
Come to the edge, He said.
They came.
He pushed them…and they flew.
- Guillaume Apollinaire


PRESS ON!!!

I am on vacation for two weeks. This is my first week. I was planning on going to Thailand for a month but decided to stay here and save my money. I just needed to take some time off to recharge my batteries.

I would have charged that on my credit card. But I've decided that I've had it, no more! If I want to go on vacation I'm going to save up for it instead. I'd like to travel and see the world while I'm young. That is why I need to start a vacation account.

I just paid off my cc balance of $3358.67. I took the money from my savings acct, now all that's left in there is $4143.63. That was supposed to be my emergency fund. I want to have at least $10,000 in there, now I have to start over. This is really frustrating. When we use our credit cards we really are spending our future. I was charging little things here and there... and then Christmas came. Amazing how these little things add up.

Atleast that's gone now and I don't have to worry about it. Should I cancel the card? Now it's time to attack that student loan ~$5,290. Every month the dept of education takes $73, and $40 of it goes to interest! I want to pay for it in chunks just to get rid of it by this year (maybe sooner).

I am at my parents' right now. I got a lot of laundry done. Got paid today. I see that a litte 15 mins overtime every other day puts an extra $100 in my paycheck. I've seriously been thinking of getting a second job, temporarily. I need to start saving up for a house, my rent is now $1298(utilities not incl). In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for opportunities to get extra hours at work.

Try to read all I can about how my 401K works and all this other finance stuff. I know that its ignorance that will hurt me. This frugality will save me.