See exactly how many weeks until your child saves for their goal — with an optional parent match or interest
This calculator turns a savings goal into a concrete plan a child can understand. You enter the price of the goal, how much they've already saved, and how much they put away each week. It then tells you how many weeks it will take, the exact target date, and shows a progress bar. You can add a parent match (like a 401(k) match) and a little interest on the balance to teach how saving and compounding work. Everything runs privately in your browser, free.
Save as link: the link encodes your inputs so the calculator reopens pre-filled. It stays in your browser, but the values are visible in the URL — don't post it publicly if you'd rather keep them private.
A popular allowance guideline is about $1 per week for each year of your child's age — but families adjust this for chores, budget, and what the allowance covers. There's no single right number. The fastest way to motivate saving is a parent match: add 25–100¢ for every dollar they save. A 100% match cuts the time to a goal roughly in half and teaches the same lesson as an employer retirement match, early.
A child wants a $120 bike, has $20 saved, and saves $8/week with a 50% parent match and no interest:
Without the match it would take 13 weeks at $8/week — the match saves about a month. Change any input and the live result updates to match.
weeklyContribution = weeklyAllowance × (1 + matchPercent/100)
weeklyInterestRate = aprPercent / 100 / 52
Start with balance = alreadySaved.
Each week:
balance = balance × (1 + weeklyInterestRate) + weeklyContribution
if balance ≥ goalPrice → done; week count is the answer
targetDate = today + (weeks × 7 days)
progress = min(100%, alreadySaved / goalPrice) // at the startIf the goal is already met, it shows 0 weeks. If nothing is saved each week and interest can't close the gap, it explains that the goal isn't reachable at the current pace.
No account, no coding — grab the copy-paste embed code from the "Add this calculator to your site" box below the guide. See it live: view a real embed example →
Subtract what's saved from the price, then divide by the weekly amount. A $60 game with $12 saved at $4/week needs ($60 − $12) ÷ $4 = 12 weeks. This tool does it for you and adds match/interest plus a target date.
A common rule is ~$1/week per year of age (≈$8 for an 8-year-old), adjusted for chores and budget. There's no single right number — use whatever amount fits your family.
You add money on top of what your child saves — e.g. 50¢ per dollar (50% match) — like a 401(k) match. It speeds up the goal and teaches the value of saving.
A small "family interest" or a kids' savings app teaches how money grows. This tool applies an optional rate to the balance each week so older kids can see compounding.
Make it visible and concrete — name the item, show the progress bar, set a target date, and consider a match. This tool gives you all of those to post on the fridge.
No — it's a free planning calculator that stores nothing. For an account that actually holds money or pays interest, use a bank or a kids' banking app.
This tool gives an estimate assuming a steady weekly amount. Real saving is rarely perfectly regular — missed or extra weeks change the timeline. Interest is applied weekly as APR ÷ 52 for simplicity and is meant as a teaching figure, not a bank quote. Allowance norms (the $1-per-year-of-age rule, match sizes) are common conventions, not financial advice — adapt them to your family and budget.
Disclaimer. Not financial advice. This is a learning and planning tool for families, not a bank, brokerage, or savings account.
Everything is calculated in your browser. We don't store or sell your data. Estimate only.