Interest

When you put your money in a savings account, you start earning something called interest. Interest is money the bank or credit union gives you for keeping your money with them. Interest is a percentage of the money already in the account, so the more money you have in the account, the more you’ll earn (ex: 10 percent of $10 is only $1, but 10 percent of $100 is $10).

The percentage you earn is called the interest rate. Interest in a savings account is usually added every month. The longer you keep the money in the account the more you’ll earn in interest each month.

This savings calculator shows saving and earning interest in action. The bars below will change so you can see how much money is in the savings account. The lighter part of the bar is the money you’ve put in, without interest. The darker part is how much was earned in interest.

To Use the Calculator:

Step 1: Enter a dollar amount next to Starting Amount. This is how much you would put into a savings account to start.

Step 2: Adjust the sliders to see how interest is impacted.

Monthly Savings is how much you’ll add to the savings account every month.

Years to Save is how long you’ll leave the money in your account.

Interest Rate is the savings account's interest rate.